


Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

by freewithme



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Music, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-13 08:23:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3374516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freewithme/pseuds/freewithme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU FINCHEL. Finn and Rachel meet on a dating app.</p><p>Title comes from Quiet nights of quiet stars (Corcovado) by Tom Jobim. One of the most beautiful songs I ever heard in my life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. first timer

Title comes from _Quiet nights of quiet stars (Corcovado)_ by Tom Jobim. One of the most beautiful songs I ever heard in my life.

* * *

**Quiet nights of quiet stars**

* * *

**01. first timer**

* * *

Finn is sitting around his apartment and checking his phone to see if he can find any interesting women with this "easy sex app", as Ethan so delicately calls it, he installed a few days ago. He's not exactly looking for only sex, which is not his personality at all, but it's something to do when you're not really doing much on a rainy Saturday afternoon, so he figures, why not.

He sets up his profile and after some serious overthinking, he goes with the basics.

**F. 22. History major, kind of a major dork. Um, hi? :D**

He's more into actual relationships. Long and loving relationships. He likes making a woman feel special and he absolutely loves to dedicate time to each other to have nice moments and make each other happy. He's honestly a hopeless romantic, and he likes it that way. He only had one steady girlfriend in his life, but it didn't took him long to know he enjoyed very much. Unfortunately, they had to break up because of distance. With your girlfriend accepting a regular job in Holland and you staying in Canada, there's not really much one can do. He gave himself a couple of weeks to mourn the relationship, but then decided to focus on school full time. It was his last year, after all, he wanted to make the very best of it. Grad school was just around the corner and nothing was going to stop him.

Ethan, on the other hand, believes his best friend is wasting away his best years. "College years, Finn! We could be meeting girls and getting laid every single night!" he exasperatedly says, just like every single time before. Finn just rolls his eyes and gets back to his books because, yes, he sincerely loves studying. It's one of his biggest pleasures in life. Sitting down, immersing himself in a book, making his mind work and learn new things… he truly loves it. Every single minute of it. He’s very glad he found himself in life or something.

He wants to be a History teacher and nothing can take that away from him, not even his apparently sex addict best friend. Finn's more into quiet days… quiet nights of quiet stars, as the poet says… he's into a quiet life.

He wonders a lot what made him and Ethan become best friends, and he eventually figures out that perhaps it was their extremely different personalities. He likes it, though. It brings a certain element of excitement to his life. Not always a good kind of excitement, but an excitement nonetheless.

So. This app.

It's fairly amusing, all you have to do is swipe people's pictures and if they are into you in the 0.3 seconds they see your face, then you can start messaging each other. Seems pretty simple, but Finn tends to be a tad picky. Not because he's some vain asshole or anything, but he a particular taste he can't seem to shake. Brunette, tiny, long hair, nice smile. Okay, it's not _that_ picky when he thinks about it, but he does realise it's hard to find someone like that currently… Are all tiny brunettes away from Vancouver? What's up with that? Are they on a vacation somewhere else?

He's looking at random pictures when he sees her pretty face.

"Whoa..."

**R. Geography lover & major. Adores the outdoor (well, duh!) and chamomile tea. 22. (PS: Not interested in frivolous affairs)**

He stops for a minute to really look at her face. My goodness, she is _beautiful_. Bright smile, big eyes. Brunette. He checks to see if her height is there and he's absolutely lively when he sees she's 5'3". Fucking score! He still would have liked her picture if she weren't tiny, but it's a wonderful added bonus really. He likes shorter women because they fit so amazingly against him, he loves to hold them, hug them, carry them to bed… there's really no down side to them. He goes to her profile to read more about her and he's very intrigued. She's a Geography student and he instantly imagines so many different discussions with her about their chosen courses and he smiles to himself.

_No, wait a second, Hudson._

He doesn't even know her yet. But he wants to. Oh, he wants to. He makes sure to stare at her picture for a few more seconds and then carefully makes sure to swipe her picture to the right. When a mark saying **LIKED** appears, he smiles.

He really hopes she sees his picture and likes him, too.

~.~

When Finn wakes up the next day, he picks up his phone from the bedside table, goes to the app and checks to see if the beautiful woman from yesterday had a chance to check him out and maybe like his picture and info back.

He's kind of disappointed to see there's no notifications, no matches, no anything. Well, maybe she didn't have time yesterday to use the app or something.

He'll check again later.

~.~

On Monday, when Finn is walking towards his favourite coffee shop on campus, he checks the app again. It's the second time today and he can't believe he's this anxious for something as simple as a freaking swipe. He wants her to swipe his face to the right, though, he really does.

Holy shit, there's a notification for matches. Oh shit, he has to take a moment to collect his thoughts. He takes a deep breath and focuses back on his phone.

Given that the only woman he liked was Pretty Woman (a nickname he gave her), he can barely contain his excitement and tries to do a tiny happy dance as discreetly as possible.

Now that they are a match he has to formulate a way to start a conversation with her. He thinks about opening with "Hey, how are you?", but then decides against it because he doesn't even know her name, he has to ask her first. The app makes sure you don’t have to put your full name and hers only has the letter R at the bottom of the picture.

Should he introduce himself? Use one or two different messages? He thinks the first one should be "Hey", that sounds (reads) good enough, right? Should he use a smiley face? Oh man, what if she's not into smiley faces? What if she's one of those people who _never_ use one? Oh my god, does she not use the emojis either? But he loves those emojis! He loves texting when he's away from someone he likes and smiley faces  _and_  emojis are some of his favourite things in life. Ethan thinks it's lame (of fucking course), but he really enjoys them.

It's the simple things that make him happy, really.

Whilst freaking out over fucking smiley faces and emojis, his phone vibrates with a new message on the app.

**Hi :)**

Yes! She likes smiley faces. Another score! He smiles a huge smile to himself, momentarily forgetting about texting her back and focusing on her smiley face usage. It sounds ridiculous, but he really thinks it says a lot about someone if they use smiley faces and emojis or not.

Okay, he’s really starting to feel weird now.

_Ugh, focus! You need to text her back._

 He thinks about what to write back, and comes up with a simple message.

**Hey there :)**

His heart is beating so fast and hard as he waits for an answer so he sits down on a random bench and waits for her to say something else.

**My name is Rachel. What’s yours?**

**Name’s Finn. Nice to meet you, Rachel :)**

**Nice to meet you, too, Finn. :) I see you’re a History major?**

**Why yes, I am. And you’re a Geography major?**

**Indeed. I foresee us having many interesting conversations…**

_Oh my god, oh my god, she’s thought about it, too._

He’s really freaking out. He lets out a quiet laugh and shakes his head sheepishly. He knew he wasn’t the only one who could picture future encounters with people after only looking at them and exchanging a few words.

**Oh really? Honestly, I do, too. It’s always nice to meet someone of a similar, but not exactly, area.**

When he decided on his major, and because of Ethan’s influence in his life, he always thought he would end up dating women from different areas, line engineers or something. In a way that he thought would complement him, they would share things he didn’t know and he would do the same for them. But, and as insane as that sounds, taking to Rachel, he can imagine having many conversations about things that matter to both of them and sharing similar experiences in a way that would make him grow. He can’t believe he’s having these thoughts already. He honestly just met her, what the fuck?

**I think so, too! :) It’s so fun! Many of my friends are either in the History or Geography area. Which school do you go to? Or are you finished already?**

**Not finished yet, will graduate at the end of the semester. I go to UBC, how about you?**

**Gosh, no way! I go to UBC, too. And I’m also finishing this semester. Feels like it took forever to get to this, and now I’m sad it’s ending :(**

He can’t believe this woman has been around him for years and he never met her before. He’s glad they’re both graduating, though, it means they can sort of have the same thoughts on staying in Vancouver and going to grad school.

Hopefully.

**I feel the same, I’m going to miss my classes. Are you staying in Vancouver or going someplace else after you’re done?**

**Goodness, I would never dream of leaving this town! It’s the most beautiful town I have ever seen in my life, and I used to travel a lot when I was younger, for my dad’s work. I plan on staying right here on this paradise and going to grad school. Are you also staying? :)**

Yep, this is definitely it. Even though he just met her, she is goddamn amazing and he has got to know her more. Is inviting her for coffee too soon?

How do people use this app even?

**I am definitely staying :) I wouldn’t trade this city for anything other in the entire world either. This is my favourite place on Earth.**

**I know what you mean. Finn, look, I got to get to class. We’ll talk more later, okay? :)**

Her usage of smiley faces really surpass all of his erm… _crazy_ expectations. He knows it’s weird, but… she uses them just like he does, and he can’t help but feel she’s something special.

Yes, over smiley faces.

He can’t help it, though, he really feels it says a lot about someone.

**Sure. I’ll talk to you later, Rachel. Have a good class :)**

**Thank you :) Have a wonderful afternoon!**

Finn leans against the bench and smiles. His life just got a little bit more interesting.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. :)**


	2. getting to know each other

**Quiet nights of quiet stars**

* * *

**02. getting to know each other**

* * *

On Tuesday, Finn goes to his morning class, anxiously checking his phone to see if Rachel sent him anything.

Nothing yet.

He checks again on his break… still nothing.

Checks against whilst he’s having lunch…. nope.

He figures it’s time to stop obsessing over this and just go on normally with his day.

~.~

A few hours later, Finn gets to his favourite coffee shop in town, Caffè Artigiano, and asks for his regular drink, sitting down by the window and watching the cars passing by. He puts his book on the table and tries to focus on the chapter that’s for his next class later on tonight.

He tries to focus, but he can’t. His thoughts are filled with Rachel. In the morning, he didn’t have much time to actually sit down and focus solemnly on her, but now he has that time. He barely exchange a few words with her, but he's never been more intrigued and interested by someone before, he thinks maybe it's her eyes on that photo... she really does have _amazing_ eyes. The minute he saw them, it was like they were begging for his attention. Anyone’s attention, really.

He stays at the coffee shop for a few hours. His mind eventually slowly lets Rachel go for a little bit and focuses on the book right in front of him. When he notices again, it's dark outside and he needs to go eat something before his night class.

He makes his way to his car and heads to the university’s restaurant, sending Ethan a text so they can meet for dinner as soon as he gets there. As he's grabbing a lunch tray, he hears Ethan call his name, coming closer so they can get their food and sit down to eat.

As they are sitting down, Finn’s phones vibrates with a new message. He quickly grabs it and notices it’s a message from Rachel on that dating app. He smiles and opens the message

**Hi again, Finn. :) Sorry for ending our conversation so suddenly yesterday, my friend was annoying me to get out of my phone because class was almost starting.**

He lets out a short laugh, thinking it’s adorable how she’s explaining herself when really there’s no need for that. Ethan looks at him curiously, but he ignores his questioning look for now because as soon as Finn tells him about Rachel, Ethan is not going to stop bothering him.

**Hey, Rachel. I know what that’s like, my best friend, his name’s Ethan, is always either trying to get me to put my phone away or trying to read my messages, it’s super annoying.**

Finn goes back to his dinner, still trying to ignore Ethan, who clears his throat loudly, trying to get Finn’s attention.

“Yeah?” Finn asks, giving him a blank stare.

Ethan gives him a pointed look. “So, you’re gonna tell me what’s that laugh about? Finally using the sex app? Hooking up with some hot chick?”

Finn rolls his eyes. “You do realise it’s a dating add and not an explicit sex app, right?”

“Whatever, man. Just tell me what’s up. I’m the one who told you about the app in the first place!”

Finn tries to read Ethan’s face to understand why he’s so interest. His face is anxious and seriously, one would think this is about his own love life, not his best friend’s. Well, if it was really Ethan’s life, it would be more about his sex life, not much “love” life, you see.

Finn looks up from his phone and tells Ethan, “Fine, I’ll tell you.” Ethan fist bumps the air, which makes Finn snorts. “But! I won’t let out many details because I know you’re going to find some way to make it sound more than it is.”

“Yes! Tell me about this woman already.” He rubs his hands and sits up straighter. “I’m dying here, you haven’t got laid in such a long time, this is fucking awesome.” He grins and seriously bounces on his chair, making Finn give him a strange look.

Finn chuckles at his friend’s attitude. “Ethan, this is not even about sex. It’s not a big deal, I just saw this woman’s picture and I liked it. And now we’re talking. That’s it.”

“That’s it?” Ethan looks at him disappointedly, his excited face falling. “How long has this been happening? Why haven’t you close the deal already? Did you lose your ways or something?”

Finn takes a deep breath. “We’ve only being talking for like, two days, calm down.”

His phone vibrates with a new message again and he checks it out again.

**I actually know what you mean! I’m not even addicted to my phone or anything, but I like to check my email often and I like to write myself reminders, so it comes in handy a lot. My friends go crazy over it. Oh, the drama!**

Finn quickly types a response, ignoring Ethan for a few seconds more it’s just an added bonus. He hears Ethan actually _huffs_ and snickers to himself in response.

“What you are chuckling at? She send you any exciting pics?” He looks like a little kid expecting something he’s been waiting for a long time and Finn has got to laugh again. He forgot how excited Ethan gets when it comes to new women in both of their lives.

Finn puts his phone down for a second to respond, scrunching his nose and looking at his best friend. “What? Why would I laugh at that?”

Ethan shrugs, “I don’t know, man. Maybe you’re into weird stuff or something.”

Finn laughs and shakes his head, hitting the send button on his phone. This would explain why he’s friends with Ethan, really. If nothing else, Ethan can make Finn laugh with the absurd things he says.

**Yeah, tell me about it, I’ve been waiting for some news regarding school and I check my email a lot, too. Argh, why can’t people understand that? Ethan is actually annoying me right now about it.**

Ethan can’t hold back his anxiousness. “Are you laughing at me or this woman? Come on, gimme _something_.”

Finn holds out his hands and tries to contain Ethan’s excitement. “Dude, you have got to relax. I seriously just met her. As soon as there’s something to tell, I’ll share the news, calm your ass down.”

Ethan mumbles under his breath and goes back to his food. “Fine, but this subject is not over.”

Finn snorts, “I swear, it’s like it’s Christmas for you.”

“Shot me for getting excited that you’re finally going to get some ass, I was afraid your dick was going to fall off given that you haven’t use it in so long.”

“Whatever.” Finn rolls his eyes. “You’re an asshole, man.”

Finn checks his phone again, just in time for a new message to show up.

**I don’t know either! My friends, but mostly my bff Tina, like to bother me because they say if I’m going to be a teacher, I have to be an example and using my phone in class is so not cool. Class wasn’t even happening yet! Rude! :p**

Now that Ethan has calmed down, he can finally eat and text without major interruptions, which is great because Rachel seems cool and talking to her doesn’t take much effort, it feels natural, as weird as it sounds. He sends her a reply as soon as he’s finished eating his chicken.

**Teaching is what I want to do, too, and Ethan uses this on me all the time. Little does he know I’m always doing stuff related to teaching. You ever take online courses? I’ve been into a few lately and they’re awesome.**

Ethan and Finn finish eating just in time to go to class. They pick up their trays and head over to exit the restaurant, Finn putting his phone in his front pocket.

As they are going to the parking lot, Ethan says, “Hey, so I was thinking about hosting a small party at my place for the NBA All Stars. You in?”

“Yeah, sounds fun, man. Who are you calling over?”

“Just our regular boys, Mike, Sam… Just so we can hang, it’s been a while since we all got together.”

“Cool. I’ll be there. I’m going to head to class now, but we’ll talk more later.”

“Later.”

They exchange a quick hug and both head to their respective cars.

“And close that deal, Finn! Get some!” Ethan screams from the other side of the parking lot, making Finn flip him off and smile at his friend’s bluntness.

He picks up his phone from his pocket, seeing there’s a new message from Rachel. He gets inside the car to read it, trying to get away from the chilly winter wind.

**Oh, I love online courses, Finn! They are so practical. I’ve done some already and right now there’s one that I have my eyes on, it’s about African cities, I am so excited! It’s starting in a few days. Are you doing something interesting right now?**

He smiles at her excitement, she seems so cute.

**Yeah, I’m taking one right now about England in the time of King Richard III. I’m kind of a major History nerd :)**

He starts his car and heads to his class’ building. He tries to think of ways to invite Rachel for some coffee or something, he really wants to get to know her better, she seems really cool and, as far as he knows her, she’s into the same kind of things he is. Well, kind of. The Humanities are just one big area, let’s be honest.

Finn gets to the building, grabs his backpack and goes to his class. As he finds the classroom he goes inside and sits down, waiting for his professor to arrive. Checking his phone, he sees Rachel’s response.

**That’s really cute, Finn. :) You seem passionate about what you do and that’s so wonderful.**

He kind of blushes at her text. It’s been a while since anyone made him react this way so he decides he definitely likes this new feeling. He doesn’t quite know how to respond, though. Is saying ‘thank you’ asshole-ish or what? That sounds awkward, really…

He wishes she was sitting with him right now, so he could only smile at her. You can’t really do that through text and he does not want to send a video to her, they’re definitely now intimate enough for that. He concludes the best way to respond is to go with his friend smiley face once again.

Thank you for the help once again, smiley face!

**:) I honestly do love being a History major. It’s so great to study something I love, and I can’t wait to teach already. A few more months and I’ll start, I’m really looking forward to it. You said you want to teach, too, have you had any experiences?**

Finn’s professor arrives to the class, but he’s so engaged in his conversation with Rachel that he does not want to pay attention to class tonight. He thinks about telling her, surely she’ll understand given her earlier text, but he does not want to stop talking to her…  Whilst waiting for her answer, he moves to the back of the class so it won’t be obvious he’s not paying his full attention to the class like he really should.

His phone vibrates with another message.

**I know what you mean, studying Geography is the best decision I could have made in life. My parents are not exactly thrilled, but I’m sure I’ll convince them someday :D I never had any real experience… unless you count when I was 10 and Tina and I would pretend to be teacher and student :p Have you?**

Before he writes his reply, he tries to imagine Rachel being a little kid and pretending to be a teacher and interacting with her friend. He comes up with one word: adorable.

He also like how she knew what she wanted to do since she was younger. Just another thing in common between them. He’s pleased both of them followed their dreams and ended up going to the same uni after all.

**I’m sorry about that, Rachel. Some parents are honestly real hard to convince… my stepdad was upset, at first, when I told him I wanted to teach public school and not private school, but he eventually got over it. My mom was more understanding. Are you close to your mom, have you tried talking to her? I’m like you, tbh, don’t have much experience. Just making my little brother my guinea pig of sorts whenever I go over to my parents’ house. :p**

Finn opens his notebook and grabs a pen, taking random notes the professor puts on the board, not really paying attention to it, his conversation with Rachel way more interesting right now.

**I actually have two dads :) I tried to explain to them numerous times, but they still think I’m ‘made to be more’. I try to explain teaching is the noblest thing a person can do, but they are still reluctant. I bet your brother likes it, though, what’s his name?**

Oh shit, how fucking rude to assume she had a mom and dad. Dammit. He feels bad because he imagines telling someone about Kurt and the person asking them about Kurt’s girlfriend. If there’s anything his brother being gay taught him was to never assume anything, and he did just that. Shit. He sends her a quick message apologising.

**Shit, I’m so sorry, Rachel! I didn’t know, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I must sound like a jerk right now.**

He waits impatiently for an answer, shaking his knee up and down and biting the back of his pen. He really hopes his big mouth (fingers, really) didn’t ruin this for him. Ugh, he feels like such a jerk.

**Oh, Finn, it’s okay, don’t worry about it :) There was no way you would know.**

She’s so nice to him; he can’t believe she’s so understanding. He feels nervous, looking around the class and trying to think of a way to make him seem less of an ass.

**Shit, I feel awful. I think assumptions are the worst and then I go ahead and make one. :/**

Finn cautiously waits for her response trying to take deep breaths. He doesn’t know why he feels so apprehensive. Maybe it’s because this was going so well and she can totally turn him down if she wants… it’s not like she owes him anything anyway.

**It’s totally okay, don’t stress about it :) Instead of worrying about it, tell me about your brother.**

He thinks Rachel’s response couldn’t be better, really. And she tries to make _him_ feel better. She’s really fucking awesome indeed. He can’t believe he never tried Ethan’s stupid app before, he could have met her long time ago.

**You’re cool, Rachel. :) And I’m sorry again! Well, my little brother’s name is Matthew, and he’s 8. I have another brother, too, his name is Kurt, he’s 21, a year younger than me. He lives in Toronto. Do you have any siblings?**

After talking about Matty he feels calmer and recollected. He won’t make a fool of himself of front of her again.

Hmm… hopefully.

**I’m serious, Finn, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. And thank you :) Aw, he sounds cute! I am an only child. Love to keep all the attention to myself!**

A sudden image of a five year old Rachel begging for her dads' attention comes to his mind. Because his thoughts are filled with cute images of her, he remembers stuff his own baby brother did, typing quickly into his phone, trying to come up with something to make her smile.

**Matthew’s seriously the most adorable kid on the planet. The other day he made me a Hulk out of clay, he painted it green and everything. I have it displayed at my apartment, right at the entrance. Every time he comes over to my place and there are people there he proudly tells everyone he made it for his brother. He’s the best little brother ever.**

**Aww, he really sounds cute, I’m smiling thinking about it. :3**

He made her smile. Fucking score! Forgetting for a second that he’s in class he fist bump’s the air like Ethan did earlier, saying a bit of a loud, “Yes!”. That gathers attention from his classmates, who all go “Shhhh!” like he’s bothering the entire class.

Ooops.

“Shit, sorry about that,” he says, sheepishly apologising, giving them a small smile and turning back to his phone.

**It’s really awesome having him in my life. Kurt, too. Do you like being an only child? When I was really young it was my dream to be one, but then my mom met my stepdad when I was 11 and I never looked back. Three years later Matthew was born and here we are, me having the cutest brother in the world.**

He decides to pay a little bit of attention in class whilst he waits for her to answer, writing down notes and listening to his professor, who seems awfully dull today. It’s kind of like things are paling in comparison to his talk with Rachel… she’s just so… she’s lively, he can’t help how he feels.

**You guys seem really close, that is so beautiful. I do like being an only child. I think Tina has a huge part in that. We grew up living close to each other after my dads and I moved to Vancouver when I was 10, so I was never really alone and never felt lonely.**

Finn likes that they are both sharing stuff about their past and lives, it makes their starting connection to get stronger. That’s awesome because when he asks her if she wants to go for coffee she will know he’s not just after sex. Not that he would reject her or anything...

He knew, he _knew_ Ethan was wrong when he was talking about this app being only for easy sex. He’s positively surprised he found someone as amazing as Rachel.

**Tina sounds cool :) It’s awesome that you have her in your life. No child should ever feel lonely. Matthew is best friends with Ethan’s little sister, Sarah, which is nice because he’s not alone and I don’t have to worry much about him.**

**Tina is the best friend a person could ask for, she’s seriously like a sister. I’m so happy I found her. And… she DID talked me into installing this, so I guess she knows what she’s doing in life :p**

Finn freaks out for 0.2 seconds at her message. Okay, she’s definitely flirting right now.

He shamelessly flirts back, hoping to get another positive comment from her.

**Yeah, you’re not so bad yourself ;)**

**Hahaha, same, Finn ;)**

Fuck yes! He really wishes she was right there next to him. That way he could reach over, squeeze her hand and smile at her. Seriously, she’s so cute.

As he is thinking about her, he realises his class is almost over, so he gathers his stuff to head home whilst he waits for another message of hers.

**Listen, Rachel, I have to get home now, it’ll take a while for me to answer back. I was in class and now I’m gonna head home.**

As Finn goes to his car he messages her before he starts driving around. One of his worst nightmares is people who text whilst driving and he refuses to be a statistic for problematic and dangerous driving. He turns the heater on because it’s so cold, and waits for her answer.

**Oh no, was I distracting you during class, Finn? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I thought you were home!**

He laughs are her worries, like she being distracting is a bad thing. It’s a very, very good thing.

**It’s totally cool, don’t worry about it. :) Class wasn’t too interesting anyway.**

Finn tries to make her relax through his texts, kind of like she did to him earlier.

**I feel awful, I just said earlier that teachers have to lead by example and not text during class and now I make you do it :(**

She seems truly upset, so he lets her know it’s not a big deal because it’s not like he does it all the time. He’s actually not exactly a texting addicted or anything, doing it once for her is completely acceptable.

**It’s cool, Rachel. The conversation was better than the class anyway. :) I think texting one time during class it’s not going to be too bad for my moral when I do teach :p**

**That makes me feel a little bit better because the conversation was good for me, too :) but you shouldn’t text in class again! Next time let me know and then we can pick up from where we stopped, okay?**

It’s amusing how much she cares about him paying attention in class and the fact she doesn’t want to disturb him. Like it could ever be a bad thing. Talking to Rachel is anything but a distraction.

**Yes, ma’am! I’m gonna head home, I’ll text you when I get there so we can talk more.**

**Okay, I’ll be waiting. :)**

~.~

Finn gets home around 10:15pm, just a few minutes after his class ends. It’s one of the many perks of living on campus. He takes off his clothes, puts his pyjamas on, brushes his teeth and gets to bed, turning on the TV to some random sports channel. He gets his phone and messages Rachel again.

**Hey, I’m home now :)**

Her return does not take long.

**Hi again :)**

Is it ridiculous how much he likes that she uses smiley faces a lot like he does? Goddamn, he really does like it, though. And because of this fact, because of her texts he imagines that she has one of those faces that the person smiles naturally, like those people who have an open and honest face with big smiles on their faces, which makes everyone around them feel welcome all the time. He feels this is how Rachel is. He can’t wait to find out.

**Hey :) So, what are you doing? I hope I’m not keeping you up or anything. Let me know if you need to go to bed.**

He flips through the channels looking for something nice to watch. He’s getting sleepy and he does not want to end this conversation with Rachel, but his early morning is catching up to him, making him feel tired.

**I’m actually in bed already :) But don’t worry, I don’t have an early class tomorrow, it’s okay if I stay up late.**

Finn can’t help the thought of Rachel in bed, all cuddled up with a bunch of blankets in this cold weather. He kind of wishes she was over at his place. But then again... at the same time he really does want to take this slow enough so they can build something cool for themselves. He hopes it’s something romantic, but a friendship would be nice, too.

**I’m in bed, too. Are you sure? I don’t want to mess up your sleeping schedule or anything.**

**It’s completely fine, Finn. I already did my night routine, I’m just relaxing right now.**

Night routine? He knows those words. He thinks about Kurt and chuckles a little to himself.

**Night routine?**

**Yes. Given how cold it is, I have to take double care of my skin at night, so I mostly call it a ‘night routine’. Why do you ask?**

Finn finds it hilarious that they seem so much alike. Rachel and Kurt would get along beautifully; they even have night routines that match. He hopes they can meet someday.

**That is so funny, Kurt has a routine, too. He calls it his “moisturise routine”. Is yours something like that?**

**Hahaha, yes! :D It is like that. Kurt seems to take care of his skin like I do.**

Oh, that he does. He never actually met anyone before who is as worried as Kurt is when it comes to his skin.

**He really does. His boyfriend lives with him and tells me their bathroom is so filled with Kurt’s skin care products that they barely have space for his own stuff.**

**So Kurt is gay? Now I get why you were so upset about earlier…**

Finn’s impressed with Rachel’s keen reading skills.

**Yes, he is. I’m glad you understand. If there’s one thing Kurt taught me was to never assume anyone’s sexuality or gender identity and stuff like that. That’s why I felt so awful earlier. Btw, I’m still really sorry :(**

He can’t help but to apologise again, still feeling bad for what he said earlier. When he talks to Kurt in a few days, like they do every week to catch up, he’s definitely going to leave that part out, he doesn’t want to sound like a total ass.

When he thinks about it, he’s kind of anxious to tell Kurt about Rachel. It’s so not the same as telling Ethan because Kurt has always been supportive and knows Finn is not some kind of ‘hit it and quit it’ kind of guy, so his reaction and advice are going to be completely different from Ethan’s. He looks forward to sharing with his brother the news, mostly because Kurt knows how Finn is and how much he enjoys meeting and getting along with interesting women. He makes a mental note to call Kurt tomorrow.

**Aw, Finn, it’s totally okay. You are completely forgiven for that little slip, it can happen to anyone :) So you won’t mull over this too much, let’s talk about something else, okay?**

**Okay. Thank you for being so awesome again, Rachel. :) What do you want to talk about?**

**It’s fine, Finn :) You mentioned something about a stepdad? How did your mom and he meet?**

**:) They met when my stepdad, Burt, hurt his back whilst working. He owns a couple of auto shops and he was carrying a car engine and when he went to drop it down, his back snapped and he had to go to the hospital. My mom, Carole, is a nurse at Vancouver’s General Hospital. Burt had to come back a couple of times for exams and stuff and she was always around. The rest, as they say, is history. How about your parents, how did they meet?**

**That is such a romantic story! Your mom took care of him and they fell in love… that is lovely, Finn! My parents met in St. John’s, actually. My dad, Hiram, is a field service engineer so he was working there and my daddy, Leroy, lived there. They met at a restaurant and are attached at the hip ever since. We used to travel a lot because of my dad’s work, but then we settled down in Vancouver after a few years because my daddy wanted to set up his own architecture office. Years later and here we are. :)**

**That’s a cool story, too. I always find it nice when people meet in other places and then settle down together and have a family in a new place. It’s exciting, you? Moving to a new place and all. Nothing but opportunities.**

**I feel the same. I think it’s sweet. I love unconventional love stories. Meeting through friends is so boring :p**

**Haha, I think so, too. :p**

Finn looks at the clock and realises it’s only 10:52pm, he totally can keep his conversation up with Rachel for a few more hours, it’s like he can’t get enough of her.

**Before your stepdad, has it always been you and your mom?**

Rachel and her questions seem genuine, coming from a place of curiosity and not invasive at all. Finn enjoys the thought that Rachel wants to know him better, he wants to know her better, too. And by her latest message, she's way more tactful than he is. Given her question, he feels like she wants to ask about his dad, but doesn't want to make any dumb assumptions like he did.

**Not really. My dad was present for a little while, but he passed away in an accident on the Rockies when I was two years old. He was a hiking instructor in Fernie. A few people that he knew were stuck on a trail there and he over went to help, but there was an avalanche.**

**Oh, Finn, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked such a personal question. I'm sorry to hear that. :(**

**It's okay, Rachel. I’m used to it by now, not a big deal, promise :) I never actually met him or anything. Sometimes I just miss the idea of him and not actually him, you know? Does that make sense?**

**It makes perfect sense. I feel the same with my birth mom. My dads wanted a biological child so they searched for someone who would carried me. I never met her and I don’t wish to, most of the time… my dads are enough, I believe. Sometimes I do think about her, I wonder about her personality and stuff like that, but then I remember I'm pretty much the spitting image of my dads, so it doesn't make much of a difference.**

**I understand. So one of your dads donated and now you're here?**

**Funny story, actually: they donated mixed contents (gosh, this sounds weird to say :p) so we don't actually know who my “real” father is, even though I fully believe some sort of medical miracle happened and I have both of their genes. Plus my birth mom's! I guess this is why I enjoy unconventional stuff in life!**

**LOL, that sounds awesome! I mean, these days you can actually take three sets of genes to make a baby, right? Maybe it happened before and you were the first baby ever. I am extremely honoured to be talking to you then :)**

**Hahaha, you're so cute for going along with my silly story and hypothesis. Thank you, Finn :) I guess we'll never know, but I shall go on life taking this with me.**

**I fully support your decision! :D So you are not curious to know or anything?**

**Honestly? Not even a tiny teeny little bit. I have both of my dads' traits in me and I love it. For instance, I have my dad's eyes and my daddy's nose and I love it. I know it sounds weird, but it's true, I promise!**

**Maybe I'll meet them one day and then I'll tell you my verdict. :)**

**Haha, we'll see :) So how about you and Ethan, how did you guys meet?**

**We met in Middle School, he had just moved to Vancouver with his mom and sister and he was the new kid in school and we started talking and have been best friends ever since. He's the loud and careless one, and I'm the quiet, pondering one. It's fun because we balance each other, you know?**

**Oh, do I! I'm the talkative friend and Tina is the quiet one, I know exactly what you mean. I bet you guys have a lot of fun together. It's exciting, right?**

**We really do. Sometimes not always the good kind of exciting, but yeah :p**

**What do you mean?**

**Because he is careless, he kind of not give a fuck about most things. I had to pick him up from the police station quite a few times. Once it was because he was cruising campus naked painted pink from head to toe with a pink wig. He wanted to get into a sorority girls' only party and painted himself pink, which was so ridiculous. The women obviously noticed after a while and kicked his drunk ass out.**

**Oh my gosh, no way!!! Is Ethan the 'Pink Dick'?**

**Hahahaha, yes, that is his nickname around campus!**

**Gosh, I've met him before, Finn! Even though I'm not part of that sorority house, my friend Quinn is, and I was there that night. Oh, she hates him so much for ruining her party, Finn. I can't wait to tell her I know Pink Dick's best friend, she'll die!**

**Hahaha, oh man, is Quinn the blonde one? Because Ethan has been wanting to hook up with her ever since he first saw her on campus a few years ago. She's the reason he crashed that party.**

**This just keeps getting better and better! Yes, that is Quinn. You tell Ethan he's never going to make it now, she absolutely hates party crashers.**

**I'll pass along the message. I can't wait to see the look on his face, this is going to be gold.**

**Finn, you have to tell me all about it, okay? And make a video if possible, I would love to show Quinn. We can make fun of him together then :p**

**I support you both. He deserves it, I told him plenty of times not to go there, but he insisted. Dumbass :D**

**Haha, this is awesome. :D**

**It really is. :)**

**Finn, I got to go to sleep now, but we'll talk more later, okay?**

**Okay, Rachel, let me know when you want to chat and I'll be here.**

**Will definitely do. Thank you for the lovely conversation today, Finn, I never used this app before, I am filled with joy that I met such a nice guy on the first try. :)**

**I never used this app before either, but it's definitely a good thing I did. You're really cool, Rachel. I can't wait to talk more when we have the chance. :)**

**Me too. Have a wonderful night, Finn. :)**

**You too, Rachel. :)**

Finn puts his phone on silent, sets it on its charger at the bedside table and turns to his side to sleep. He wasn't expecting this day to turn out as it did, but he would never complain about it. Rachel is awesome and he's so glad he caved in and installed this dating app. Otherwise, he never would have met her. They've been going to the same uni for almost four years and never saw each other, he is seriously super happy this app exists. Thank you, person who created this!

~.~

On Wednesday, Finn wakes up still feeling good about last night. He stretches his body and smiles thinking about Rachel. Reaching over to his bedside table to check on his phone, he sees there's four missed calls from his mom, so he stays in bed and calls her back.

“Finn?” she answers after only one ring, sounding concerned and making him sit up immediately.

He frowns, his mom never sounds this distressed. “Mom? What's wrong?”

“Matthew got hurt. He, he—”

As he's listening to his mother, Finn hurries to get out of bed, looking for suitable clothes to wear outside of his apartment and meet his mom and brother wherever they are. “What happened? Where are you guys?”

“Oh, God, Finn, he broke his leg,” she sobs into the phone.

“What? How?!”

“H-He was chasing a squirrel down our street on his bike and then he climbed the Waltons' tree to go after it and his little foot got stuck, making him fall all the way down. Oh God—”

“Mom, where are you two?

“At the Children's and Women's Health Centre.”

“I'm on my way.”

“Please come soon, Finn.”

“I'll be there in 20, mom. Hang in there.”

He rushes out of his house, getting into his car and speeding towards the hospital.

As he gets there, he makes his way to the children's wing, frantically looking for his mom. He can't see her anywhere, so he asks the nurse he sees on the hallway, “Excuse me, miss. I'm looking for my mom and brother, last name Hudson-Hummel. My baby brother broke his leg.”

She looks through her files and says, “They're on room 405.”

“Thank you.”

He goes over to the room and knocks on the door, sliding his head in. The doctor nods for him to enter, his mom dropping his brother's hand just for a while and hugging Finn tightly. “It's going to be okay, mom,” he whispers against her hair. She nods against him, squeezing him before letting go.

Finn goes over to his brother, who's sitting down on the doctor's table getting a cast on his left leg, and gently ruffles his head, making his brother lean against him.

“How are you doing, Matty?”

Matthew looks up at Finn, dry tears on his puffy and red eyes. He shrugs his shoulders, his lower lip trembling. “Okay,” he says is a quiet voice. He leans against Finn’s stomach, Finn running his fingers through his brother’s hair.

He feels his phone vibrate on his pocket, making a mental note to check on it as soon as he gets some free time.

The doctor finishes wrapping Matthew’s leg on a blue cast, Matty’s choice, Carole says, that goes from his knee right down to his foot.

The doctor stands up and introduces himself to Finn, “Dr James Hart.”

“Finn Hudson. Thank you for helping, doctor.”

“It was no problem, your brother has been very good throughout this entire procedure.”

Finn smiles at Matty, raising his hand for a high five. Matthew beams and Finn and hits his tiny hand against his brother’s big one.

Dr Hart grins at the two brothers, “Okay, let's go this over one more time now that your big brother is here, all right?”

The family nods and pays close attention to what the doctor is going to say, Matthew still leaning over Finn, who has his free arm around Carole.

“What happened with Matthew, thankfully, was only a greenstick fracture. Matthew, I already explained to you what that is, can you repeat it for me, buddy?”

Matthew nods. “It’s when the bone breaks only on one side.”

Dr Hart continues, “And how did that happen to you?”

“It was when I fell and my foot landed weird.”

“That’s right,” Dr Hart says turning towards Finn, “I had to give your brother a sedative to adjust his leg because the bone was in a poor alignment, so he is going to be sleepy the entire day, but he should be fine tomorrow. You guys can give him paracetamol if he has a fever or feels any pain. He’ll have to keep his cast from four to eight weeks, perhaps not even eight weeks if his leg gets plenty of rest. Remember to always put his left up with some pillows under it. And for the next few days, it’s better if his leg is not forced in any way, so carrying him to the bathroom, to take a shower, up and down the stairs is recommended. That’s pretty much it, you got any questions?”

Finn shakes his head no. “All right then. I’ll see you guys in about two and a half weeks for a x-ray so we can make sure the fracture is healing properly.”

Finn and Carole nod, preparing to set their things to take Matthew home. Dr Hart goes for the door and says goodbye to the family.

“Thank you so much for being kind to us, Dr Hart,” Carole says.

“You’re very much welcome, Carole. Let me know how his recovery goes and call the hospital if you need anything.”

Carole and Finn nod their heads, thanking the doctor once again.

“Do you guys need a wheelchair to take him to the car?”

“No, it’s fine, doctor. I’ll take him myself,” Finn says.

“All right then. Call us if you guys need anything.”

“Thank you again, James,” Carole gently says one more time.

Matthew waves the doctor bye, looking up at Finn again. Finn looks at his brother, giving him a pointed look, “You know we have to talk about this, don’t you?” Matthew avoids his eyes for a second, nodding his head. “We’ll talk at home, Matty.” Finn leans towards his brother. “Now put your arm around my shoulder, I’m going to take you to my car, okay?”

Matthew does as he says, Finn picking him up and him putting his head on Finn’s shoulders, softly putting his thumb on his mouth, something he does only when he’s _super_ upset or sick. _Super_ being the keyword. Finn wants to tell him to get it off, but he feels bad for little brother, it’s not like he was being bad or anything, he was after a squirrel for Christ’s sake! He lets Matty get away with it for a little while because he knows this can’t really hurt him.

“Mom, you got everything?” Finn asks his mom, who’s gathering Matthew’s ripped clothes the doctor had to cut in order to put the cast on his leg.

She sounds tired when she replies, and Finn feels for her. “Yes, honey, let’s go home.”

“Let’s go then.”

As they are walking to Finn’s car, he says, “Guess what? I’ll spend the day with you guys today, how does that sound?”

“But what about your classes, Finn?” Carole asks worriedly.

“It’s okay, mom. I only have one class this afternoon, I’ll explain to my professor later and then I can do some assignment to make up for it. Don’t worry about it, really,” Finn reassures her. “I only have four classes left until I graduate at the end of the semester, it’s no big deal.”

Carole reluctantly nods. “If you’re sure…”

“I am, mom. It’s okay,” Finn says gently.

“Okay, so let’s go have some fun, okay?”

Matthew nods happily, excited to spend some time with his brother, and Carole sighs in relief, so glad to know how well her son knows her emotions and that she needs him right now. She gives him a grateful smile and he returns it with a soft one, mouthing to her “It’s going to be okay.” She goes over to him and gives him a side hug, so thankful she can count on him to help her whenever she needs.

Carole heads for the door and turns to her boys, gently pushing Matthew’s hair from his eyes and kissing his forehead.

They get to Finn’s car and the medication Matthew had to take for his pain is finally working its way through his little body. Carole sits in the backseat and Finn gently lays Matthew against her lap, then goes over to the driver’s side and heads to his mom’s house.

~.~

When they get to his mom’s house, he carries his sleeping brother to his room and puts him in bed, covering him with his Iron Man blanket and lifting his left leg, putting a pillow under it. He leaves the door half open in case his brother calls him or his mom and he goes downstairs to find his mom leaning against the kitchen counter, her head in her hands.

“It’s okay, mom, he’s going to be okay soon. He’s healthy, there’s no need for his leg take too long to heal,” Finn says, rubbing his hands on her shoulders and back.

Carole sighs. “I know, Finn, but I… I was so _scared_ , you know? It’s been such a long time since you were an energetic boy that used to run around and hurt himself weekly, I’m not used to this anymore. I swear, my heart almost stopped.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I was in the front of the house, taking some dry twigs from the front lawn and he was riding his bike. He was so excited it hadn’t snow in a couple of days so I let him ride down the street,” Carole explains. “I saw him get excited over a squirrel and chase after it. I went down to the street, called his name, but I don’t think he listened. I then saw him climb the Waltons’ tree and felt a thug in my heart. I ran to him and saw him scream, his foot got stuck and he fell down all the way from that huge tree, Finn! Oh my god, I’m a horrible mother! Why did I let this happen? I-I—”

Finn interrupts his mom, “Mom, no. This is not your fault. You know how excited he gets when there are squirrels in the neighbourhood. This is one hundred per cent not your fault, don’t blame yourself for this. This is what kids do!”

Carole tries to take deep, calming breaths, but it’s really hard.

As Finn is still trying to console his mom, he hears the front door open and close. After a while, Burt steps into the kitchen and hugs Carole, trying to calm her down, he knows how worried she gets over this stuff. She softly cries into his shoulder. Burt looks up and sees Finn, mouthing to him, “I’ve got this, son.” Finn nods his head and goes to the living room to sit down and text Kurt about what happened.

As he picks up his phone, he remembers it vibrated earlier. He notices it’s a message from the dating app and checks it out. It’s Rachel again (obviously) and he smiles thinking about her.

**Good morning, Finn. How are you this morning? Had a good night of sleep? :)**

He leans against the couch, taking a deep breath and answering her.

**Good morning, Rachel. Actually, not so good... got a call from my mom this morning, she was with my little brother at the hospital, he broke his left leg.**

As he waits for her answer, he shoots a quick text to Kurt, letting him know what’s going on and that he can call their parents’ house for more news as soon as he can.

His phone vibrates again.

**Oh no! My gosh, poor baby :( Is he okay now? Can I help you with something, Finn?**

Finn likes that Rachel is so worried about his brother, she seems honestly interested in what happened. It's important to him because he doesn't think he could ever be interested in someone who would ever brush his brother and his needs off. Rachel seems special and Finn likes that. He likes it a lot.

**He’s fine, he’s sleeping right now, I think the medicine they gave him for pain it’s going to help him sleep for a little while. It’s okay, Rachel, thanks for offering. I’m going to hang out at my parents’ house for today, gotta help my mom, she’s really upset over this.**

**I can imagine how she must be feeling. I mean, you and Kurt are adults already, maybe she’s not used to it anymore, you know?**

Finn is certainly surprised at how perceptive Rachel seems. Is it this normal? To have this sort of connection? He doesn't know, but he's more interested by the second.

**That’s exactly what she said, how do you know this?**

**Well… don’t tell anyone this, but I’m a little psychic.**

He lets out a small laugh at her message.

**Really?**

**Kidding. Just wanted to make you smile :p Did it work?**

Seriously, she’s the best for trying to make him smile and make him feel better.

**It did. Thank you, Rachel :)**

**Anytime, Finn. I’m going to let you stay with your family, text me if you want to talk later, okay?**

**Will do. Thank you so much for being so awesome, Rachel :)**

**It’s not a problem, Finn. You make it easy, trust me. :)**

Smiling once again, it seems to be a constant when it comes to Rachel, Finn puts his phone back in his pocket, leaning his head against the comfy couch and closing his eyes for a second.

“Son?” Burt’s voice comes through the living room.

Finn lifts his head and looks at his stepdad. “Yeah, dad? How is she?”

“She’s better, thanks to you.”

“It was nothing, just wanted to make sure she and Matty were okay.”

Burt comes over to Finn’s side, sitting next to him on the couch, reaching his hand on Finn’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“It was not nothing. The fact that you instantly went over to the hospital to help your mom and brother, that’s pretty amazing, Finn,” Burt says. “Thank you for always being there, son.”

“Not a problem. This is why I love living close to you guys. I know I haven’t been around much of lately, but--”

“Don’t worry about it,” Burt insists. “We definitely appreciate you living close. If both you _and_ Kurt lived away from home it would be way harder on your mom and Matthew. Mostly Matthew, he misses you playing around with him. But I am sure glad you’re always around when we need you, Finn.”

Finn thinks about what Burt is saying about Matthew. It’s true, he hasn’t been around much, too concerned for school and in the winter weekends he finds it hard to actually get up and leave his apartment. He makes a mental note to be a better brother, and answers Burt, with a broad smile on his face, “I’m glad I live nearby, too.”

~.~

A few hours later, Finn and his mom are sitting by the kitchen counter, preparing lunch together and talking about Finn’s school, Finn’s cutting some tomatoes and Carole preparing spaghetti. They’re chatting when they hear Matthew calling for Carole.

They both drop the stuff they are doing and head over to the second floor, going to his room. They get there and Matthew is sitting up on his bed, Carole ushers to his side, gently putting her hand on his head and hair.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“Mom, I really really really really really need to pee.” Finn and Carole both laugh, Finn standing by the edge of Matthew’s bed.

“Come on, buddy,” Finn says, “I’ll help you, okay?”

Matthew nods and stretches both of his arms, reminding Finn of when he was a little baby and Finn almost tears up. _Almost_. Finn takes both of his arms and carries him to the bathroom attached to his bedroom.

After doing his business, Finn takes Matthew to his bed once again, where Carole is waiting for them with her most beautiful smile, it’s her serene mother smile, a smile Finn loves more than anything else about his mom. It’s the smile she has reserved only for Finn, Matthew, and Kurt. It particularly shows its face whenever she sees them interacting and ponders about how lucky she is and how proud she is of her boys.

“Are you hungry, Matty?” Finn asks. “Mom can make you a little snack before lunch, how does that sound?”

“I could eat.” Matthew says seriously, making Finn laugh loudly, like Carole is also doing.

Finn ruffles his brother’s hair and says, “There’s my hungry monster.”

~.~

After having lunch together and giving Matthew a bath, Finn asks Matthew if he wants to play videogames for a while, Matthew enthusiastically nods and they go over to the basement.

Not even an entire Mario Kart course in and Matthew is already dosing off.

“Do you want me to take you to your room so you can nap, Matty?” Finn gently offers.

He picks his head up suddenly, “What? No, Finny. I’m not sleepy!” he says unconvincingly through a huge yawn. He quickly covers his mouth and says, “That wasn’t me.” He shakes his head emphatically as if to prove his point.

Finn tries to convince him, “Come on, buddy, we’ll play more later after you wake up.”

Matthew inhales, exhales, dramatically so, much like Kurt, and says in a single breath, “No because when I wake up it’ll be dark and then it’s night times and you’ll go to your house and won’t be here anymore and I’ll be alone again.”

Okay, that was so not what Finn was expecting. He’s actually concerned now. He obviously still remembers Burt’s words from earlier, but he hasn’t been that distant. He hasn’t.

Right?

“What? What you talking about, Matty?” Finn frowns and turns his full body and attention to his brother.

Matthew rubs his fingers against his leg and actually pouts, shrugging his tiny shoulders. “I dunno.”

Finn insists. “You can talk to me. What’s up?”

“I dunno…”

“Come on, buddy, talk to me.”

Matthew says quietly, “I just miss you a lot, Finny…”

Finn’s heart breaks for his little brother and his vulnerable posture and voice. He keeps forgetting Matthew’s only 8 and definitely still a child. He’s practically the baby of the entire family.

“I miss you, too, Matty,.” Finn says, putting his arm around his brother. “You know, I’m sorry, buddy, I’ve just been busy with school. I promise I’ll come over more often, okay?”

“I mean, I know you’re busy,” Matthew says like it’s a pretty obvious fact. “But Kurt lives far and it kinda seems like you live far, too. You never come over to play anymore... Or Ethan… or Sam or Mike. I just don’t want to be alone. Mom’s awesome, but she doesn’t like to play Mario Kart like you guys.”

Finn has got to laugh at that. “Is that so?”

Matthew pouts again and nods.

Finn then excitedly says, “Hey, I’ll tell you what. I don’t have class on Fridays this semester, how do you feel we make Friday our day? I can pick you up at school and we can spend the whole day together.”

“Really, Finny?” Matthew hopefully says, his eyes shining like it’s Christmas morning and Finn can’t help but get a little bit choked up at his brother sudden burst of joy.

“Really. It’s going to be _our_ day, how does that sound?”

Matthew can’t seem to find the proper words, he only jumps forward, to the best of his abilities at the moment, that is, and throws himself in Finn’s body, Finn hugging him tightly. Matthew softly whispers against Finn’s broad chest, “Thank you, Finny.”

Finn hugs him harder and kisses the top of his head.

~.~

A few hours later, after Finn _finally_ convincing Matthew to take a nap, promising to not even go to the front lawn of the house, Finn sets up a plan to make Matthew have a cool, ‘boys only’ evening with him and Ethan, really trying to make up to his brother. He feels awful for making Matthew sad and not coming over enough, he really thought he wasn’t that absent. Guess he has to pay more attention.

Finn gets his phone and calls Ethan, who answers after a few rings. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Finn answers. “You?”

“Was about to send you a text, actually. Want to have dinner at uni’s restaurant again?” Ethan offers.

“I can’t, man. I’m at my mom’s house, Matthew got hurt.”

“Shit!” Ethan exclaims. “What happened to the little monster? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine now. He broke his left leg after climbing the Waltons’ tree.”

“Fuck. Tough luck, man,” Ethan says. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Finn says. “He told me this afternoon he misses me and you coming over to play Mario Kart, how do you feel about coming over and bringing some of his favourite pizza, double cheese?”

“Of course, I’m in,” Ethan says. “I’ll be there in an hour, I’m going to go to the store and get some drinks and candy for him, too. Is that cool?”

“Awesome. Thanks for this, Ethan.”

“Not a problem, man. See you soon.”

~.~

Exactly one hour later, after Matthew had woken up already and is energetic as ever, the doorbell rings. They are all in the family room watching random videos on. Carole gets ready to get up and answer, but Finn raises his hand to his mom, signalling he’ll answer. Carole nods and sits back down again.

Finn turns to his brother and says, “Hey, Matty, want to answer the door with me?” Matthew nods, oblivious to Finn’s little surprise. “Okay, you gotta jump on my back, okay? And then we’ll go together.”

Matthew nods again, Carole and Burt getting up from their seats to help Matthew get on Finn’s back.

They get to the front door, Finn holding his brother with his right arm and reaching his left to open the door. As soon as it’s wide open, Matthew lets out a scream right into Finn’s ears, “ETHAN!”

Ethan grins and gets inside, closing the door with his foot because his arms are on his back. “Hey, little man. Guess what?”

“What?!” Matthew asks, almost bouncing on Finn’s back, he’s so excited.

“We’re going to play so much Mario Kart _and_ eat a bunch of pizza and candy!” He takes his arms from his back, showing Matthew and Finn the two pizzas he brought, along with a full bag of candy.

“Candy _and_ pizza?” Matthew carefully asks, not quite believing his luck.

Ethan nods, “Yeah, man. Candy _and_ pizza for us boys tonight.”

Matthew screams, throwing his hands up in the air. “Yay!”

Finn lets out a laugh, going over to the living room with Matthew still on his back and Ethan alongside them. They enter the living room, Carole and Burt standing up, both smiling wide, having just heard the fuss and so excited to know Finn and Ethan are dedicating time to spend with their baby boy.

While Finn puts Matthew back on the couch, Ethan goes over to their parents.

“Hey, Mama Hud,” Ethan goes over to Carole’s side, hugging her. He then hugs Burt, “Hey, Burt.”

“We’re so glad you’re here, Ethan,” Carole says with a watery smile. Burt nods, shooting Ethan and Finn a grateful smile.

“Eh, it was not biggie. Anything for this little monster, right?” he says, messing up Matthew’s hair, who can only beam in response.

“Can we eat now?” Matthew anxiously asks, making everyone laugh.

“That’s Finn’s brother alright,” Ethan says.

Carole and Burt go to the kitchen to get plastic plates and napkins so everyone can eat in the family room.

After everyone finishes eating, it’s about 7pm. Finn, Ethan, and Matthew all head to the basement to play video game whilst Carole and Burt throw away the plastic utensils.

As they settle down in the couches, Ethan asks Matthew, “So, which Mario Kart do you want to play, little man?”

Matthew puts his left pointy finger on his nose and seems to think real hard about Ethan’s question, making Finn and Ethan exchange an amused look.

“I want to play…” He makes a suspenseful pause and declares, “Mario Kart 64! Is that okay?”

“Whatever you want, buddy,” Finn says and gets up to set up the game Matthew chose.

The three spend about two hours playing and eating a bunch of candy up until Matthew’s bedtime.

“Come on, time to go to bed, Matty.”

He’s sleepy and couldn’t stop yawning for the last twenty minutes, but still resists, “No, Finny, I’m not tired yet!” he says through another yawn, closing his eyes and almost giving in. He then suddenly opens his eyes and says, “How about another race? Please?”

Finn pretends to give in, but only because he knows Matthew will fall asleep faster if they start another race. “Okay, buddy, just one more, okay?”

Matthew nods sleepily. Two minutes later he succumbs to his sleep and slowly drifts off against Ethan’s shoulder. Ethan looks at Finn and chuckles lightly.

“Want me to take him to bed, man?”

“That would be great, you take him and I clean this up.”

Ethan slowly gets up. “Deal.” He reaches over to Matthew and gently picks him up, turning to the stairs and to take him to his bedroom.

“Ethan?” Finn silently says.

Ethan turns his head, “Yeah?”

“Don’t forget to put a pillow under his left leg, the doctor said to keep it elevated,” Finn instructs.

“Will do, man.”

After cleaning up the basement and turning everything off, Finn goes to the kitchen to put Matthew’s candy on the cabinet. Ethan comes through the door, and reaches to the cupboard to get a glass.

Pouring himself a glass of water, he says, “Tonight was fun. We should do it more often.”

“I agree, dude. We should ask Sam and Mike to come over next time, Matty will be ecstatic.”

They both laugh, knowing well how excited Matthew gets whenever Finn’s friends come over.

“Awesome. I got head home now, lunch tomorrow?” Ethan says, going to the front door. As they get there, they stop to talk before Ethan leaves.

“Actually, I think I’m going to go to my morning class and then come back here to stay with Matty before my night class. You want to come over?”

“Definitely. Tell Mama Hud I’ll be here around 12:40pm or so.”

“Will do, man.”

They hug quickly, saying their goodbyes. Finn opens the door, Ethan already going for his car that’s park out front.

Finn thanks Ethan, “Thanks again for coming over tonight, man. It meant the world to Matty.”

“It was my pleasure, tell the little monster we’ll have more fun soon,” Ethan answers from his car, already opening the door and ready to get in.

Finn grins. “I’m sure he’ll love that.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow then.” Ethan waves and gets inside his car.

“Bye, man.” Finn says, and closes the door.

As he goes to the second floor to his old bedroom to sleep, his phone vibrates. He picks it up and sees if it’s Rachel again. Smiling into his phone, he enters his bedroom and drops on the bed.

**Hi, Finn. Hope your day turned out better after this morning. :) How is your brother? Is he feeling better?**

He rests against the pillows, texting her back.

**Hey, Rachel. It actually did turned out great :) I spent the day with my mom and playing video games with Matty. Ethan came over, too. He just left, in fact.**

**That sounds fun :) You’re such a good brother, Finn. Matthew is lucky to have you.**

He grins at her words, but then remembers his conversation earlier with Matthew.

**Actually, today I found out I’ve been acting like a shitty brother…**

**What? How so?**

**Matthew had to take some sedative and also painkillers so he was really sleepy the entire day. We were playing video games and he was dozing off, so I asked him if he wanted to take a nap and he freaked out saying no bc when he woke up later I wasn’t going to be here anymore and he was going to be alone. I totally didn’t realise he was lonely, you know? He then told me he misses me, so we made a deal to have Friday as our day to spend together, since I don’t have any classes. I still feel super shitty for not realising sooner, though. So, yeah: shitty brother.**

**Oh, Finn, you’re not a bad brother at all. You’re a wonderful brother. If you weren’t, Matthew wouldn’t have opened up to you. And! You tried to fix the situation right away, you were sensitive enough to listen to him. Trust me, you’re an amazing brother. :)**

Okay, what the heck? Is this woman real? How can someone be so awesome and supportive?

**Thank you, Rachel. You know, I feel like I’m always dumping my stuff on you. Sorry for being a bummer.**

**You’re not a bummer at all, stop being silly. It’s what friends are for, right?**

**You’re right, Rachel. Thank you :)**

**I mean, I know we just met the other day, but we have been talking a lot. I would consider us friends. Wouldn’t you?**

**I totally would. :)**

**Finn... maybe we could...**

This message certainly gets Finn's attention, making him sit on the bed, anxiously waiting for what Rachel is about to say, his heart beating fast all of a sudden. He responds immediately.

**Yeah?**

Looking at his phone like it's about to change his life, he slowly inhales through his nose and exhales through his mouth.

**Oh goodness, that message was not supposed to be sent! I'm usually not this forward and I really don't know how to proceed on this app, I don't know its rules or anything...**

She seems so flustered, it makes Finn smiles. He's _so_ glad he's not alone in this. After calming down himself he reassures her.

**It's okay, Rachel, I don't know much either. What is it you want to say? :) We’re friends, right? We can talk about stuff.**

**Do you want to get to know each other better? I mean, in person? We covered a lot of the basics here already... it's okay if you don't want to! I'll understand, we only just met, really... our friendship is so very new… maybe I’m being too precocious…**

Fuck yes! He breaths a sign of relief, loving the fact that they are both on the same page. He would love to get to know her in person.

**I would love to get to know each other better in person, Rachel. :) Are you free tomorrow before dinner? Want to grab some coffee? I always head to Caffè Artigiano, if you’re interested.**

**Oh, Finn, I love that place. Can we meet there around 17h30? :) Thank you for not finding me an impulsive fool.**

Seriously, she’s _the_ fucking cutest.

**You’re worrying too much, Rachel, it’s honestly okay. If you hadn’t say anything, I would have myself.**

**Promise?**

**Yes, I promise.**

**Okay then. Tomorrow 17h30 I will be there. I’ll wear a bright red coat so there’s no way you would mistake me, is that okay?**

**Like I would ever mistake you for another woman. I could go blind tomorrow and would still remember your eyes, Rachel.**

**Oh, Finn, you’re so lovely and kind. :)**

**How is it you said to me earlier? You make it easy, Rachel. :)**

**Using my words against me, I see. :p**

**Only in a good way. ;)**

**I’m glad. I’m going to let you sleep because you must be exhaust from your day with Matthew. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?**

**It's a date. :) Good night, Rachel.**

**Yay! :) Have a lovely night, Finn.**

Finn looks at his phone and smiles.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading. :)**


	3. quiet nights

**Quiet nights of quiet stars**

* * *

**03\. quiet nights**

* * *

On Thursday, Finn wakes up thinking about his coffee date with Rachel and he gets immediately excited for the day. He decides to text her before getting out of bed.

**Hey, Rachel. Good morning! Hope you had a good night of sleep and have a great day today. Don’t forget about our coffee date… see you later! :)**

Her answer doesn’t take too long, almost like she woke up just as excited and anxious, which makes him feel instantly better. Maybe she feels their online connection (and hopefully offline) as hard as he feels. That would be pretty fucking awesome.

**Hello, Finn! :) Had a good night of sleep indeed. ;) Don’t worry, I could never forget. I have a tutoring session at four o’clock, but it’s usually over by five o’clock, I’ll have plenty of time to get there before you do. :p See you later, have a wonderful day!**

He likes that she seems so eager to meet him, too. And that winky face has got to mean something… His mind promptly goes to dirty thoughts, but he stops himself before it gets too much. Plus, he hasn’t even met her yet!

Anyway, it’s cute how she thinks she’ll beat him to their date. He is seriously the most punctual person in the world. But he’ll give her a run for her money.

**I’m actually super punctual and no one has ever beaten me to something before… let’s see how good you actually are at this getting early thing. ;)**

**Haha, don’t you worry, you’ll see it. I always get there first. :D**

He smiles at how cute she is. Again. He can’t wait to see her in person.

**We’ll see, Rachel. :)**

**We will :D**

Finn takes the time to properly stare at his phone with a goofy grin on his face and then gets up, brushes his teeth and goes over to the kitchen to have breakfast with his family. Matthew is so excited to have Finn over, one would think it’s Christmas with the way his eyes light up as they’re eating, asking Finn questions about anything he can think of, trying to stall Finn’s departure for as long as possible.

After they finish eating, he doesn’t want to let go as they’re hugging, making Finn get just a little bit emotional and promising to come over for dinner if he can, calming Matthew down for the moment.

Finn goes over to his apartment to get ready and shower for his classes later on the afternoon. Somehow, his classes are particularly slow today, and he’s so _fucking_ annoyed that every time he looks at the clock the time it has gone it’s only ten, fifteen minutes… tops. He decides it’s just best to just shift his attention to class, might as well take advantage of it.

~.~

Finn’s idea works and it’s suddenly five o’clock. He looks at his left wrist and smiles so big, it feels like his face could break in half. He’s dreamy smiling as the guy sitting next to him gives him a weird look. Finn shortly recovers from his dream-like state and gives the guy a hard look, which makes him look away. He is then free to smile again, biting his lower lip to contain his giddiness. Ethan calls him a dork a lot and this is the first time he feels like one. He feels like a little kid! This is insane! How can Rachel draw this kind of reaction from him? And they haven’t even met in person yet?

His stomach starts acting weird, like a dolphin is swimming all over it. No, wait. Make that _two_ freaking dolphins. His stomach is all up in tangles and he can’t help himself. His phone buzzes inside his pocket and it breaks his trance. He picks it up, internally freaking out that it’s Rachel and she’s late or decided to not go or something. What if she met someone else and he was so charming she’s not interest anymore?!

_Stop it, Finn. Just look at the damn phone._

Phew, it’s Ethan. Finn breathes a sigh of relief. Mentally kicking himself for imagining the worst possible scenario.

**Yo. Wanna grab dinner? I was thinking about coming over and see Matty, how about 5:30 @ your mom’s?**

**I can’t, man. Have something to do. But you can come over, I’ll probably get there around 20h or so.**

**K then, man. See ya.**

Finn puts his phone inside his pocket and finally gets out of class, walking towards his car.  He’s got a date to go to!

(Coffee date. But still. Totally counts. Totally.)

~.~

He’s late.

Finn can’t believe it. He can’t believe himself! The accident on SW Marine Drive kept him there for over an _entire freaking hour_. He got lucky the police was already there and clearing the way, but he’s still late for his usual behaviour and he hates it.

When five fifteen arrives, he gets a text from Rachel.

**Already here. :) I can’t seem to find you… told you I was going to be here early!**

He quickly texts her back, hoping she could forgive his tardiness.

**Hey! I’m stuck in SW Marine Dr. I’m so sorry, Rachel. There was a car accident. But I’m on my way, hang in there!**

Just because he’s an anxiety ball right now, he takes a picture of the traffic and sends it to Rachel, just so she can know he’s not being an asshole or anything.

**Oh my gosh, is everything okay? Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get here. No need to rush. :)**

Seriously, is this woman for real?

He figures this is a constant thought he’s had ever since he met Rachel. Almost like he cannot bring himself to believe she’s real.

**You’re awesome. :) Everything seems okay, the police are already taking care of it. I’ll be there as soon as I possibly, humanly can. Thanks for being awesome, again.**

**It’s okay, Finn, truly. :)**

As soon as the traffic was cleared, he speeds just under the limit (always the responsible one) to get there as fast as he can. Destiny seems to be on his side because he finds a parking spot pretty fast and then runs to the coffee house.

He enters the coffee house at six fifteen. He’s out of breath and in an utter ungraceful manner, looking around anxiously looking for a bright red coat when he spots her. She’s… my God. She’s _stunning_. Her face is open and honest, just like he thought it would be.

She looks back at him. Rachel recognises his anxiousness and beams at him, recognising his face instantly, her entire face lighting up because of his presence (or so he likes to think). She timidly raises her left hand in a small wave. He can’t help but smile back and blindly goes towards her. Both of them imagining the world could pretty much drop dead right now. A strong energy pulling them together and both can’t look away.

What was a pretty damn romantic first look is ruined as he crashes against an older woman holding a damn cold cup of tea, getting ice all over Finn’s shirt, making him gasp and the beverage to stick to his body. Super gross.

Also, it’s Christmas, who the fuck drinks ice cold drinks?

He promptly reaches for the woman, “Oh shit! I’m so sorry! I was just—”

“ARE YOU BLIND?!” The woman screams out of a sudden, making Finn’s eye widen and his mouth to drop. He’s kind of (super) scared of this lady now. “HOW COULD YOU NOT SEE ME? CHRIST, how are you even allowed to walk around IF YOU CAN’T SEE?” Finn is too shocked to answer this abrupt, and, let’s be honest, disproportional attack so he just stands there with his mouth open (probably looking like a fool) and the woman is having _none_ of it. “HUH, BOY? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! ANSWER ME!”

He’s speechless and tries to catch his breath. “Ma’am, I’m s-sorry,” he stutters and looks around for help. The woman continues on ranting and he feels the t-shirt is clinging more to his body, his skin cold, making him shiver.

Rachel, seeing the entire scene, has already come close to them and stands near the confusion. Finn notices her presence and looks at her with a honest-to-God scared face. She can’t help but let out a small giggle at his face. Who knew this giant of a man would be scared of an old lady?

Finn can’t believe this is how they’re meeting. Fucking life.

Rachel reaches her left hand and quickly squeezes Finn’s arm. Looking at the woman, she says with a calm and steady voice, “Ma’am, we’re so sorry about this. Is there anything we can do for you?”

Finn suddenly stops breathing. Did Rachel just said “we”? As in “we”? “ _We_ ”? “We, Finn _and_ Rachel”? As in like “we, this _couple_ , Finn _and_ Rachel”?

Is this real?

No, wait. It’s kind of weird she’s talking for the both of them… right? Like… isn’t this kind of weird? And fast? Super fast? He knows some people on that app are not screwing around and are looking for a relationship, something he clearly remembers about Rachel’s profile since it explicitly stated “ **Not interested in frivolous affairs**.”

So she’s the real deal. But still, kind of weird that she’s talking for both of them, even though her voice sounds _really_ nice and he could hear her recite the entire dictionary if she was so inclined to do it…

He stops day-dreaming and focuses back on what’s happening right in front of him. Rachel and the other lady seemed to have come to a mutual understanding, Rachel squeezing the woman’s hand and smiling. A second later, the lady looks at him, kind of displeased, but not so angry anymore. He tries to smiles, which comes out more of a grimace, and the lady walks back to the counter, probably to get another cold ice drink.

He feels so awkward standing there with his tall figure and a clingy t-shirt. It seems like everybody is gawking at him and he’s so freaking uncomfortable right now.

Finn finally looks at Rachel smiling and says, “Hey. So, hmm, this is awkward.” He shoves his hands back into his jeans and his shirt sticks more to his side as he does so. He feels like a giant popsicle right now.

She giggles at his predicament and covers her face. “It’s perfectly fine, accidents happen, Finn.” She lifts her head and looks straight into his eyes. “So. Hi, Finn. Nice to finally meet you.” She introduces herself and he swears, she has the prettiest smile ever. She offers him her hand. He takes it and squeezes it softly.

“Hi.” He gives her a dopey smile. He quickly recovers from staring at her face, “Hm, yeah! Nice to meet you, too, Rachel.”

They stand there looking at each other for a moment. Then Rachel asks, “Shall we seat? I got us a table by the windows, I love the view here.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

As he’s about to sit, Finn seems to remember his shirt is disgustingly sticking to his body.

“Actually…” He starts, which makes Rachel look at him, confused. “Would you mind if I ran over to my car and grab a new shirt? Usually—”

Rachel mistakes his words and her face promptly falls. “Oh…” She looks at her lap, and says in a small voice, “It’s okay, Finn. If you want to leave just say so, I promise I won’t be offended…”

“What? No!” She looks up at him again and he gives her a dimpled grin, trying to fix this awkward situation.

If it wasn’t awkward before, it certainly is _now_.

“No, I definitely don’t want to leave, Rachel!” He tries to reassure her. “It’s just… I have clothes for emergencies in my trunk because of Matthew, he’s like _super_ messy whenever we go out to eat, and I’m pretty sure there’s a decent shirt there.”

Finn sees a pink rise from her neck to her face and she lowers her eyes to her lap once again. She looks at his face and gives him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I’m such an id—“

He cuts her off, just wishing this awkward moment could end. “No, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t just up and leave you.”

They stand there and stare at each other for a while, the awkward seemingly disappearing.

“Would you like to come with me? I’m sure we can find another table to sit,” he offers.

She grins at him and says, “Sure, let’s go.”

~.~

After Finn finds a clean and decent shirt, he goes to the coffee house bathroom to change, whilst Rachel waits by the table, ordering his lemon balm tea for him, and her signature chamomile tea.

He comes over not after long and sits down, putting his wallet and keys over the table.

“Woah,” he sighs, sitting back against his chair. “That was an eventful start to a coffee date.”

She laughs, “I suppose it was. Makes for a good story, though…”

He smirks at her implication, “You’re right, it does.”

“So. How are you, Finn? How was your day?”

“Long.” They both laugh. “Honestly, I kept looking at the clock every ten seconds.”

“Oh gosh, you did not!”

“I did. No shame.”

She giggles and it’s such a great sound, he wants to keep listening to it forever. “I have to say… I was doing the same thing.”

“Really?” he asks, happily surprised. He slowly reaches for her hand over the table. She sees his hand moving and detangles her fingers from her cup of tea, stretching them to find his. Just as they’re about to touch, his phone rings inside his pocket. Rachel retracts her hands to her cup once again and Finn outbreaths, looking at the phone and seeing that it’s Ethan who’s calling.

He mouths ‘I’m so sorry’ to Rachel, who only shakes her head in response, signalling it’s okay. She gives him a smile because he seems so nervous.

“Man, can I call you ba--- What? Are you serious? No, no, I’ll be right there.”

Rachel looks at him with concern written all over her face (he likes that they just met, but she’s so emotional – and seems earnest – and honest that he can read her face) and he shakes his head at her. He finishes the call and puts the phone back into his pocket.

Rachel reaches for his hands over the table, “What’s the matter, Finn?” she whispers.

He looks at their hands, and sighs. “My brother. He fell down the stairs and got even more hurt, they’re taking him to the hospital. I have to go. I’m so sorry, Rachel. This must be the actual worst coffee date of your entire life.”

“Oh my gosh,” she breathes, covering her mouth. “It’s okay, Finn, don’t worry about it,” she says, getting up and gathering her coat from behind the chair. Finn does the same with his keys and wallets.

“I’m really sorry, Rachel, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“I promise you, don’t stress about it. We’ll talk more later, okay? Message me with news of Matthew, please?”

He nods, “You’re too awesome for this world, Rachel. I’m so sorry for the shitty evening.”

She chuckles, “Stop worrying. You worry too much. It’s okay, emergencies happen all the time. Let me know how it goes, all right?”

“I will,” he promises, “It really was great meeting you, even if we just got to talk for 0.5 seconds.” They both laugh.

They stand for a while, not knowing what to do or say. Rachel breaks the silence first.

“It was great indeed,” she says cheekily.

Finn smiles at her, hugging her goodbye and getting into his car, heading to the hospital to see his little brother.

If this is somehow Ethan’s fault, Finn going to _murder_ him.

~.~

“And then I just fell from Ethan’s back and rolled like a cinnamon roll down the stairs!” Michael says, a huge beam on his face, eyes shining, completely unaware of the pain on his arm since Finn rushed inside the doctor’s room. Burt shakes his head at his son and Carole does the same, both not even a slightly bit amused with this situation.

Finn turns towards Ethan and gives him a hard look and mouths, “I’m going to freaking kill you, asshole.”

Ethan stretches his mouth in a thin line and shakes his head, trying not to smile. Okay, it was a fucked up and dumb (really dumb) idea to give Matthew a piggy back ride down the stairs, but he did roll over in a hilarious way. Not that Ethan would ever say that out loud, Finn could probably kill him if he did. So he just stands there and says, “I’m sorry, man. It wasn’t my intention.”

“That doesn’t matter. Your very s-t-u-p-i-d intention—“

“Finny, I can spell, you know?!” Matthew cuts in, annoyed at being ignored by the grownups in the room.

“—almost killed my brother, Garner!”

“Hey, man, I’m sorry—“

“That helps exactly zero per cent, Ethan!”

Carole steps in the stare down contest between her son and almost-son. “I think we need to calm down now, sweetie. This isn’t helping your brother at all,” she states, coming close to Finn and rubbing her thumb against his arm, a gesture she knows always calms him down.

Finn turns to his brother and apologises begrudgingly, “Sorry, Matty.” He then turns to his mom. “Sorry, mom.”

Ethan chimes in, “Sorry, Mama Hud.”

She gives both of them a small smile and steps closer to Matthew, running her fingers through his hair whilst they wait for the doctor to come and put another cast on his arm.

Finn can’t stop looking at Ethan, super annoyed that he managed to _both_ break his brother’s bone and interrupt his date with Rachel. Ethan senses Finn’s look and visibly shrinks away from his gaze, moving to fake read something on the wall. Finn wants to smirk at this tiny, insignificant victory, but focuses his attention back on his little brother.

Lashing out on Ethan can wait.

~.~

“All right, we’re all done here,” Dr Hart says, standing up. “And one more thing, guys?” They all turn to look at his questioning tone. “No. More. Stairs,” Dr Hart says sternly, looking straight at Ethan. Ethan lifts his arms in a self-defence gesture, everyone in the Hudson-Hummel family giving him an annoyed look, except for Matthew, who seems like he wants to giggle away, thanks to those painkillers and his childhood innocence, which makes him oblivious to the tension in the room.

“We’re seriously thinking about moving to a place with no stairs, doc,” Burt says jokingly, the adults in the room sharing a small laugh over it.

Matthew, however, almost burst into tears in a dramatic change of mood. He stops smiling right away and says in a little voice, “We’re gonna _move_? Away from Finny and Ethan? And Sarah? Mama!”

Caroles comes to his aid and says, “Daddy’s just kidding, sweetheart. We’re just going to have to be more careful from now on, okay?”

Matthew, still pouting, nods his head. Finn can’t help but let out a small chuckle at the sudden change of his brother’s behaviour. Dammit if he’s not the cutest kid in the entire world.

~.~

After schooling Ethan on how absolutely _unnecessary_ it is to piggy back a _child_ down the _freaking_ stairs, Finn and Ethan say their goodbyes. Ethan promising not to give Matthew piggy back rides **ever** again.

Finn feels bad for his little brother; the little guy has been having a few hard couple of days. I mean seriously, a broken arm _and_ a broken leg? He knows children hurt themselves a lot, but this is too much in such a short amount of time, right? He feels bad and he makes sure to remind himself to clear his schedule whenever he can in the near future so he can spend as much time as possible with his brother and spoil him rotten. Maybe he can even move back home for a little while to help around the house or something. Spending time with Matty will be the greatest bonus, of course.

Finn texts Kurt about what happened, getting an angry response from Kurt who promises to slap the shit out of Ethan’s head next time he’s in town, which will be soon given the circumstances. This situation sucks a lot, but Finn misses Kurt and he’s glad he’s coming back home to see the family. And he can finally talk to someone about Rachel. Sure, Ethan’s his best friend, but his advice when it comes to women? Fucking awful. Finn thinks it might get better when Ethan finds someone to settle down, but Kurt always laughs at how naïve Finn is.

Hey, everyone can be better people, right?

Finn then says goodbye to his parents and goes back to his place, sitting down on the couch and texting Rachel.

Amidst the confusion, he never saw there was actually a text of hers on his phone.

**Hello, Finn. :) I hope Matthew is better by now. Let me know how he is doing, I was worried the way you rushed out of there, hope it’s not something serious!**

Seriously, there’s no way this woman is real. Today feels surreal for more than one reason and Finn keeps thinking back the day in his head to figure out if he’s dreaming or not. He pinches himself in the arm and realises that okay, this is real.

**Hey, Rachel. :) He actually broke his arm. Not like super super broke his arm, it was a buckle fracture, but he had to get another cast. :( He was playing around with Ethan and he fell down the stairs of the basement at my mom’s house. I’m pretty sure I’m going to kill Ethan at this point.**

**Oh, no! Poor baby! :( Is there anything I can do? I bake a mean cinnamon roll, maybe I could make some for him to cheer him up or something?**

**That’s awesome, Rachel, but I can’t let you do that. It’s too much, we only just met, I don’t want to be an asshole or take advantage or anything like that.**

**Nonsense, Finn! I insist :) And I promise you, you’ll regret trying to turn me down when you taste my delicious baking. ;)**

**Can’t wait to regret it. ;) Okay then, since you insist. I’ll make it up to you, promise.**

**You could make it up to me by taking me on another date. :) And even though we only got a chance to talked for 0.5 seconds (as you said), I had a lovely time and would love to do it again sometime, let me know if/when you’re free!**

**Yeah, I would love to get together another time, I might be a little busy in the next couple of days, but can you do next Friday night? We could maybe go out to have dinner or something. What do you say?**

**I’d love to have dinner. What about The Eatery? 19h?**

**Awesome! I love The Eatery. I can actually pick you up, if you’d like. I was such an ass today, I didn’t offer you a ride, I’m sorry for being a jackass. :(**

**Haha aw, it’s okay! :) Don’t stress about it. I actually do have a car, but only use it for school. I took the bus today and it was fine, don’t worry. However, I can text you my address for next week: apartment 301. Just let me know when I should be ready!**

**Aha! That’s why you were early today, you live close to the coffee shop. :p Can I swing by at 18h40? Is that okay?**

**That would be perfect. See you then, text me when you get down there, if you’d like! :) Also text me if you want to talk about your brother or something else, all right? I’m here if you need anything.**

**I will, Rachel. Thanks for offering. See you Friday. :)**

The day’s events finally caught up to Finn and he rubs his right hand over his face, sighing loudly, rubbing his eyes and face. He can’t believe that he started out the day super excited and happy. At least he scores himself another date with Rachel. Today’s coffee date was kind of a disaster, but it still counts, right?

Right?

~.~

Finn’s super busy for the next couple of days, which is great because it means Friday comes by faster. He talks to him mom and decides to stay over for a few weeks to help around the house and with his brother. Matthew acts likes he might as well explode from happiness when he sees Finn pulling over with his car, flailing and squee-ing like Finn never saw before.

“FINNY! Are you moving back _forever_?” Matthew asks, whispering the last word.

“Hey, little man,” Finn greets, opening his arms and making Matthew stumble a bit with his casted leg to hug his big brother. “Well, not exactly, Matty…”

Matthew’s face falls instantly at his brother’s word. “Oh.”

“But!” Finn tries to excite him again, “I _am_ going to stay over for a few weeks and we can play every day after I come from school, how does that sound? We can even play War.”

“ _War_?” Matthew asks in wonder, “ _Really_ , Finny?” His eyes are sparkling and Finn feels love swell on his chest at his brother’s face.

“Yeah, man, really,” he promises, side-hugging Matthew, who clings onto Finn for dear life.

Yep, this is going to be pretty awesome.

~.~

Finn’s waking up on Friday morning when his phone rings. Because of the ringtone he immediately knows it’s Kurt.

“Hey, Kurt,” Finn says, answering his phone.

“Hello, Finn!” Kurt greets from the other side. “How you are you, big brother?”

“I’m good. Temporarily moving back with mom is being awesome,” he says. “I forgot how amazing it is to eat real food and not just cafeteria stuff,” Finn jokes.

“Ugh, I know what you mean. It’s never an entirely delicious home meal if mom’s not involved.”

“You got that right,” Finn chuckles. “So what’s up? When are you getting here, man?”

“It’s actually the reason I called. Blaine had a last minute work thing and can’t fly there until tomorrow morning and he just told me, can you pick me up later today? Since I’ll leave in a few hours I don’t want to exchange my ticket. Plus, I miss you guys terribly, I want to get there as soon as possible,” he explains. “My plane lands around seven thirty. Can you meet me there?”

Finn hesitates for a moment. “Hmmm…”

“Come on, Finn! I promise not to joke that nuns drive faster than you,” Kurt teases.

Finn laughs, “It’s not that, man. It’s just…”

“What is it?”

“I hmm… I actually have a date tonight.”

“Really? That’s great, Finn!” Kurt says excitedly. “Nevermind then, I’ll ask mom or dad! That way you can fill me on the details later!”

“Man, are you sure? I don’t want to leave you just hanging.”

“Don’t be silly, Finn! You haven’t gone out on a date in a while, I’m excited for you. And also super curious on how she dresses. Can you send me pictures so I can analyse them on the plane?”

Finn lets out a loud laugh at his brother’s antics. Seriously, only Kurt would do this kind of stuff. “Of course not, Kurt. That’s ridiculous.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll just have to see for myself then. Hey, I have to finish packing. Care to tell me details of meeting this woman later?”

“Sure thing, man,” Finn says. “We’ll talk this weekend.”

“Great!” Finn can hear Kurt clapping his hands. “See you later today, Finn. Have a great date!”

“Thanks, Kurt,” Finn says. “Have a safe trip, little brother.”

~.~

It’s 6:38pm when Finn texts Rachel that’s he’s waiting just outside her building.

**Very impressive, Finn. :) You are indeed very punctual. Hang on, I’ll come down in a second.**

**Told you no one could ever beat me. ;) Okay, can’t wait. :)**

Finn climbs out of his truck, takes a deep breath and walks over to the front door of Rachel’s building.

He sees her coming out of the elevator and his breath is caught in his throat. She looks even more beautiful than on the day of their coffee date, if that’s possible. Wearing a knee high navy dress and her shoulder-length hair softly curled, bangs falling gracefully over her delicate face, she smiles at him, gently biting her lower lip. She’s carrying a big tray with the cinnamon rolls she promised him earlier in the week.

“Hello, Finn. Nice to see you again.”

“Hey, Rachel. You look…” he breaths. “You look _beautiful_.”

Rachel gives him a bashful smile, slender fingers running through her soft curls. “Thank you, you’re very sweet.” She looks into his eyes. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”

Finn grins at her words. “May I take these?” he asks, pointing to the tray.

“Oh, certainly,” she answers, passing the tray to his right hand. “As promised, this is for Matthew. I always modify original recipes so hopefully he’ll like them.”

“I’m sure he’ll love them, they smell incredible. I might even eat some after dinner.”

She laughs. “I made extra, just in case you’d be interest. There’s plenty to go around. I might even eat some later tonight, too.”

“Thank you again, Rachel, you’re awesome,” he says honestly. She smiles at him again and shakes her head.

“No biggie, it was my pleasure.”

“Let’s go?” Finn asks. He offers her his hand with a coy smile and she takes it, grinning back at him, and lacing her small fingers with his big ones as they walk to his car.

Finn’s glad no one dropped iced tea on anyone so far. This date will definitely be better than their coffee date.

Here’s to hoping.

~.~

“So anyway, now I’m back at my mom’s house for a while. Matthew was super excited and he legit almost cried when he saw my car.”

“Awww, he seems so sweet, Finn,” Rachel says, lacing their fingers together over the table, the little bit of alcohol she drank giving her eyes a sparkle Finn never saw in anyone’s eyes before. He’s hypnotised by her enticing look and seemingly forgets he’s supposed to say something in return.

“Finn?”

He blinks, trying to focus back on Rachel and her beautiful face. “Sorry, got lost in your eyes for a second there.”

She bites her lower lip, trying to stop a smile from escaping but it’s fruitless. She smiles at him, eyes sparkling, and says, “Oh, Finn Hudson…” she says in a low voice, giving him a sultry look, “You are trouble.”

“What? Little ol’ me?” he jokes. “Nah.” He gives her hand a soft squeeze. Lifting their joined hands towards his body, he tenderly kisses the back of her hand.

Rachel lets out a soft gasp and sighs, tilting her head to the side and giving him what he can only describe as a loving look.

He rewards her reaction with a dimpled grin and they stare at each other for a long moment before speaking again. It’s like the silence between them is comfortable and seems to intensity their emotions so there’s no need to say anything really.

“So… you want to go eat some of that cinnamon roll by the beach or what?”

Rachel giggles, “I’d love that, Finn.”

~.~

They’re on Finn’s car, driving to Jericho Beach Park when Finn’s phone starts ringing.

“Rach, can you get that for me, please?” he asks, the nickname slipping from his lips. He’s been doing it all night, calling her Rach. She gets butterflies in her tummy every single time. “Just put it on speaker, please.”

She grabs his phone and does what he asked.

 _“FINNYYYYYYYYYY! Where are youuu? Kurt is here and we’re playing Game of Life!! I didn’t let anyone touch the blue car, it’s just for you. Are you coming down the street already?!”_ Matthew’s voice comes through the speaker, making Rachel chuckle at his eagerness. After spending some time with Finn in person, she definitely understands Matthew’s attachment to his big brother. He’s pretty damn attachable.

“Hey, buddy. I’ll take a little while longer to get there, okay? Just keep playing.”

_“How much? Like 10 minutes?”_

Rachel looks at Finn and mouths ‘Adorable’. Finn laughs at his brother, giving Rachel a sheepish look. “Maybe a bit more than that.”

_“12 minutes then?”_

“Matty, I don’t think we’ll really be able to play tonight, bud. Maybe tomorrow morning, okay?”

 _“Why, Finny?”_ Matthew says in a little voice. _“Don’t you want to play with Kurt and me?”_

“Aw, Matty, it’s not that, it’s just—“

_“Is this because of your girl friend?”_

Rachel blushes and lowers her head, biting her lips. Finn feels his face hot as he stutters to find an answer to his brother.

 _“MATTHEW JOSEPH HUMMEL! GIVE ME MY PHONE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”_ Finn hears Kurt screaming through the phone.

“W-what?!” Finn finally stutters.

 _“I heard Kurt telling mom you went on a date with a girl. Are you on a play date, Finny? What are you guys playing? Can I come?!”_ Matthew asks innocently.

 _“Oh my God!”_ Kurt screams through the phone line. There’s a few noises, Finn hears Matthew screaming, _“No, Kurt! I want to talk to Finny!”_ There’s some shuffling and then Finn hears Kurt’s voice. _“Finn, I’m so sorry about that. I really hope you’re not driving and this is not on speaker, dear God,”_ Kurt says in a hush breath, “ _I really hope you’re date is not there right now or I WILL DIE.”_

“Hey, Kurt…” Finn says slowly, side-eyeing Rachel to gauge her reaction. “Mmm, actually…. yeah, you’re on speaker... And…” he clears his throat, “Rachel’s here.”

Rachel laughs at Finn’s voice and awkwardness. This situation is actually pretty damn cute, she’s not annoyed at all.

_“OH SWEET BABY JESUS! I’m so sorry! I’m going to hang up now and shove my head in a hole. Bye!”_

Kurt hangs up and Finn looks at Rachel, she’s clearly attempting to hold back her laughter. When she looks at him, they both laugh loudly.

“Oh my gosh, that was so—”

“Awkward. I’m sorry, Rachel. I shouldn’t have told Kurt anything and—” Finn says, shaking his head.

“Oh, Finn, don’t worry! It’s okay. For what’s it’s worth, your family seems super cute.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” he asks cautiously.

She beams at him, “I’m completely sure.” She reaches over the console and gives him right hand a soft squeeze.

Finn gives her a smile and keeps on driving, their fingers laced together.

~.~

“So, what are your plans for grad school? What area are you most interested in?” Finn asks as they’re sitting by the beach, cinnamon tray sitting between him and Rachel. Finn thanks his messy brother for the napkins he had on his car, otherwise this would not work at all.

“I actually love everything and all areas of Geography. I can’t choose!” She laughs, “I actually applied for a project, but haven’t gotten an answer yet…” she says in a small, sad voice. Raising her face and looking at Finn she continues, “I don’t think I’ll get accepted…”

“Hey, Rach, come on.” He reaches over and grabs her hands, running his thumb through her knuckles. “Hang in there. A couple of friends applied for some stuff, too, and none of them had an answer yet,” Finn says, trying to make her feel better. “I actually think they’ll wait until like, next month before releasing something.”

Rachel squeezes Finn’s hands as a gesture of gratitude. She shakes her head and says, “You’re right, I’m being silly over this.”

“So, tell me more, what is the project about?”

She perks up at this question, excited to know he’s really interested. “It’s about the geodynamic of urban canyons, actually.”

“That sounds awesome!” he says excitedly. “But… what _is_ that exactly?” he carefully asks, making a confused face.

Rachel giggles, eyes sparkling. “It’s when a street or avenue or whatever has buildings on both sides of the street, particularly really tall buildings, like skyscrapers and such, and the penetration of solar radiation is disturbed, creating a different climate for that specific area. I know it must not sound _really_ exciting, but it truly is, I promise.”

“No, no. That actually sounds pretty cool, Rachel,” he reassures her.

She gives him a gentle smile in return.

“What about you, any plans for grad school?” Rachel asks, reaching into the tray and getting a cinnamon roll. She bites it, waiting for Finn’s answer.

“Mm, I was actually thinking about studying Russia’s political history or something like that.”

“Nice topic, _commie_ ,” she teases him.

Finn laughs at her implication. “I don’t know, maybe throw some North Korea there, too, just to spicy things up. Some Cuban influence, too.” Rachel giggles at his answer.

“Is Political History you favourite field?”

“I actually love Cultural History, too. I have a buddy, Sam, who studies 18th century poems by women in Argentina. Coolest thing ever,” Finn says, eating a cinnamon also. “He went down there when we sophomores and completely freaked out, he fell in love this fast.” he says, snapping his fingers together.

“Yes, that does sound amazing,” Rachel agrees. “I never have been there. Have you?”

“Not yet. It’s one of my top five places to visit in America.”

“Tell me the other four! As a Geography major, I can, and totally will, judge you as a person based on your choices.” She winks at him, making him grin in return.

“It goes like this: Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, and Bolivia.”

“Bolivia? Really?”

“Yeah, their history fascinates me.” She laughs, shaking her head. “What? Why are you laughing?” he asks.

“I’ve been there, Finn.” His eyes light up at. “Yeah, last year. Tina, Quinn, and I went there to help our friend Mercedes with her research.”

“Holy shit, that’s amazing, Rachel. I want to know everything.”

“Everything?” she asks him, giving him sly smile.

Finn leans closer, whispering, “ _Everything_.”

Rachel giggles softly at his excitement and starts telling him the stories of her trip.

~.~

“And then when we got to Salar de Uyuni, Quinn looked around and just went full _sobbing_. Like, wreck your body sobbing. She couldn’t stop crying. We all looked at her and started crying, too. It was _surreal_. We just couldn’t believe how visually stunning it was, we sat down and cried for such a long time. I remember people staring at us like we were absolutely crazy,” Rachel says with a serene look on her face. “After we explained to them we were Geography students they went like ‘Ooookay then’. It was hilarious.”

“Wow, Rachel, that sounds… breathtaking,” Finn breaths, shivering slightly at her story.

“Yeah, it’s pretty spectacular. The sunset and the night sky there are… I cannot even describe it. I think it’s the most beautiful sunset I ever saw. And I live in Vancouver, come on! It’s pretty hard to top our sunset.”

“You got that right,” Finn agrees.

“So anyway, I would really recommend a trip there. The people are super nice. The food, oh my gosh,” she moans a little bit, “The food is _fantastic_.”

“I’ll put that on my list. I can’t wait to go there.”

“Who knows, maybe I could even be your guide or something?”

“Yeah?” he asks with a dopey smile.

“Sure, why not?” she answers, eyes open and honest.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

Rachel smiles at him. She then picks up her beeping phone, checking for the message she just received from Tina. Taking a closer look at her phone, she notices the time and gasps, “Oh gosh, is it really 1am?!”

“What?” Finn picks up his own phone. “Damn, I guess it is. Didn’t even notice it.”

“Me neither.” They share a soft smile, eyes locked.

Rachel’s phone then starts ringing and she excuses herself before answering. “Hey, Tina. No, no, it’s okay, I just lost track of time.” She giggles into the phone, “Stop being silly, I’ll head home right now. Call you tomorrow, okay?” She laughs again. “Stop it, Tina. Okay. Talk to you later. Bye.”

She hangs up and looks at Finn, “Tina’s pretty worried. I told her I would text her that I got home safe, but the text obviously never came and she was worried.”

Finn gives her an understanding look and nods. “I should get you home then, let’s go.”

He gets up and offers her his hand. Rachel looks down at the empty cinnamon tray and sighs loudly. “I can’t believe we ate all of Matthew’s rolls.”

“Oh. Guess we did,” Finn says, “Thankfully I didn’t tell him I was bringing home treats or anything, he would be pretty upset when I got home empty handed,” he chuckles, thinking about his brother and his sweet tooth.

“You know,” Rachel starts, “I can make more for him. And you. We just have to set up another date…” she says cleverly.

“Yeah?” Finn perks up at her suggestion.

“Sure. Why not?” she repeats her earlier sentence, gives him a side smile and raises her eyebrows.

“Okay then. How about tomorrow… erm… tonight?”

“I’d like that.”

They hold each other’s gaze for a while before gathering their stuff and heading to Finn’s truck.

As Finn’s driving back to Rachel’s place, she slowly reaches over the console and rests her left hand against his. Finn turns to look at her, smiling tenderly, and rotating his hand, lacing their fingers.

They reach Rachel’s place far too quickly for Finn’s liking, he wish they could spend more time together.

_Is that crazy? Seems like it…_

He parks his car just outside her house and unbuckles his belt, turning towards Rachel, who does the same.

“I had a delightful evening, Finn. Thank you for this.”

“Me too, Rachel. Pick you up later tonight?”

“Sure, I’ll be ready at seven, is that okay?”

“Perfect,” he says and stares at her face. Rachel unconsciously licks her lips and the movement drags Finn’s gaze to her full lips.

The air shifts around them. All the flirting and the joking… the stares from the entire night seem to amass and caught up to them, and the air is heavy with sexual tension. Rachel inhales slowly through her nose and doesn’t break her gaze from Finn as she deliberately leans and lets Finn’s natural pull draw her body towards his. She gives him a small smile and slides her hand from his chest to his neck, tugging lightly on his hair, fingers finding purchase in his strands. Finn’s hands wrap around her waist, pulling her body closer.

They’re so close now, cinnamon breath mixing together. Finn closes his eyes and rests his forehead against Rachel’s. She puts her left hand against his cheek and slightly grazes her nails against his soft skin, making him shiver. She smiles at his response and catches his open lips with her own. Finn lets out a sigh through his nose.

Rachel opens her mouth and bites Finn’s lower lips, making his gasp lightly as she circles Finn’s tongue with her own, a throaty moan escaping his delicious mouth and entering her body, shaking her to her very core. It’s a slow, building kiss and neither can’t get enough.

Finn cradles her head, fingers tangling in her silky hair. He takes a second to catch his breath then dives in again, kissing Rachel in a way that awakens his (and hers, for that matter) senses and he can feel a rush of pleasure travelling through his entire body. He lets go of her lips, planting kisses from her cheek to her neck, teeth scraping against her, making her body vibrate.

“ _Fiinn_ …”

He catches her earlobe between his teeth, licking and then blowing at it, making her stick her hands inside of his shirt and press her nails into his back, marking him a little. His mouth travels back and he kisses her on the mouth again, playing with her tongue and she delicately pants against his mouth.

“Finn…”

He smirks against her mouth and breathes, “Yeah?”

“I have to… oh!” she says as he sucks on her neck once again. “I have to go…” she finishes in a small voice.

“Go,” he says teasingly against her mouth, tongue coming out and teasing her top lip. Rachel lets out a small whine and captures his mouth again with her own, kissing him long and deep.

The sound of their heavy breathing and soft moans surrounds them and for a while all they can do is stay tangled up in each other. It’s like the Universe is telling them to never part ways.

Rachel eventually pulls back enough to tell Finn she really needs her rest.

“Aw, Rach, come on, just a little bit more…” he says, running the tips of his fingers against her neck, making her respond by slapping his hand away. His touch… his mouth and fingers are _dangerous_ and she has to get away from him as soon as possible, otherwise she won’t be able to control herself and her urges.

“No touching!” she says, pointing her finger at him.

Finn fake pouts. Rachel giggles at him and says, “I really have to go, but I’ll see you later tonight?”

He nods. “I’ll be here.”

“Okay, see you then.” She gives him a quick peck and gets out of the car before he cast his spell on her again. She gets inside the building and waves him goodbye, a huge smile on her face. He smiles back and watches her get inside the elevator before leaving.

 Yeah, this was a pretty great date indeed.

~.~

Finn reaches his mom’s house around 1:30am. He softly steps through the hardwood floor, trying not to make a sound. As he passes the living room, the lamp close to one of the couches lights up, Kurt sitting in the dark.

“Jesus, Kurt!” Finn hisses. “You almost scared me to death!” Kurt smirks at his brother. “What?” Finn asks, giving his brother a suspicious look.

“Come on, Finn, I’ve been waiting for hours! Tell me about your date. I’ve been dying here.”

Finn smiles softly remembering how well it went and how truly awesome Rachel is.

“Finn!” Kurt whines. “Come on. I can’t wait to hear about it, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you this giddy.”

Finn gives Kurt a look and sits down by the opposite chair.

“So, tell me. How is she?” Kurt asks impatiently.

Finn lets out a breath and says, “She’s… _amazing,_ ” he says in a dreamy voice. “She’s like no one I ever met before, Kurt.”

“Aww, Finn, I’m so happy for you. Where did you meet?”

“Actually, it was on one of those apps, Ethan told me about it,” he chuckles. “Huh, have to thank him later, I guess.”

“Really, what app was it?”

“Hmmm…” Finn is confused. “Does it matter?”

“Obviously!” Kurt says exasperatedly. “There are some awful apps out there. Oh my God, it wasn’t ‘Hot or Not’, was it? Or worse! Was it ‘Passion’?” Kurt makes a disgusted face and Finn can’t help but laugh at his brother’s dramatic tendencies. Damn, he missed him.

“I don’t think so,” Finn says, scratching his head. “Wait, let me check.” He reaches into his phone and sees there’s a new message from Rachel.

**Hi, handsome. :) Thank you again for the lovely evening. I can’t wait for tonight. :* Have a wonderful night, sweet dreams. ;)**

“Finn? Finn!” Kurt says annoyed. “Stop smiling at your phone and tell me which app is it.”

“It was an app called ‘Tinder’, man. Calm down,” Finn says, typing an answer to Rachel.

**Hey, beautiful. :) Thank YOU for being awesome, Rach. I can’t wait either. Wish it was 19h already. Good night! And… I’ll be sure to have sweet dreams, but never as sweet as your lips. ;)**

“Oh, thank God,” Kurt says under his breath.

“Why is this even a big deal?” Finn asks. His phone vibrates again with a new message and he picks it up.

**Smooth ;) Continue on that path and there will be more of that for you later tonight. :)**

Finn smiles to his phone and types an answer quickly.

**Good thing I’m willing to never walk another path. Your lips are enough. :)**

“—And I would be very annoyed if that happened to you!” Kurt finishes a sentence Finn heard almost nothing of.

“What, man?” Finn asks.

“Oh my God, I never seen you so distracted. Are you talking to her?”

“Yeah, just saying good night, no big deal.”

**Gosh, you’re good. <3 Okay, really have to go to bed now. See you later. :) :***

**I try. ;) See you later, gorgeous. :)**

“No big deal? The huge grin on your face says otherwise.”

Now that he finished his talk with Rachel, Finn can actually pay attention to his brother.

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”

“Tell me about her. What does she do? What is she like?”

Finn chuckles under his breath and smiles at his brother.

~.~

The next day, Finn spends the entire day with his two younger brothers. Blaine joins them in the afternoon and they play board games and video games and Finn’s kind of antsy the entire day, just waiting for the time to go pick Rachel up.

When it’s 6pm the doorbell rings, Carole answers and all Finn can hear is a bunch of screaming and shouting. A few seconds later, Ethan, Sam and Mike come through the living room door, all very excited and bringing over a bunch of bags.

Finn begrudgingly greets his friends because he knows exactly where this is going. They’re probably over for a barbecue and to cheer Matthew up. He knows he should feel good that his friends care for his little brother as if they were all brothers, but tonight he really wanted to spend more time with Rachel. Finn shakes his head, getting rid of the negative feelings and helps Matthew up so he can also say hi to Finn’s friends.

Matthew’s delighted, of course. He eats up all of the attention and when Sam shows him a huge bag of candy Finn thinks he’ll actually pass out from the excitement.

After everyone settles down in the backyard, Finn calls Kurt to his old-but-now-temporary bedroom.

“Kurt, I need you to cover for me,” Finn says, Kurt nodding positively at his brother’s request. “I really want to see Rachel tonight and obviously it’s still not the time to introduce her to the family. Especially with everyone here. If at least Santana and Brittany were here, but they’re not and it would just be awkward and I don’t want that. I’m going to say my advisor needs my help and I’m going to bail, can you cover me?”

“Of course, Finn,” Kurt says easily. “Have a good time with Rachel.”

“Thanks, man, you’re awesome,” Finn smiles at his brother, faltering a bit after a second when he thinks about bailing on his little brother.

“Hey, Finn,” Kurt says, “Don’t feel bad, you’re a great brother and you did spend the entire day with Matthew. It’s okay to enjoy yourself, all right?”

Kurt’s words are exactly what Finn need to hear. He smiles gratefully at his brother.

“Thanks, little brother. You’re the best.”

Kurt smiles in return.

“You do have to shower, though,” Kurt says, making a face. Finn pretends to look offended for a second, but he knows his brother is thinking about him and his best interest. Plus, he was planning on driving to his place and showering and then going over to Rachel’s house, but that could make him late and that would just suck. “I’ll try to stall and keep everyone in the backyard, that way you can go them there’s an emergency, come here quick and shower, okay?”

“You’re really sneaky, Kurt. How did you get so smart?”

“Oh, big brother, there are so many things you miss being here. Blaine and I had to sneak a lot when we started seeing each other. His sister is one curious, and kind of creepy, woman,” Kurt says, making both of them share a small laugh.

Finn claps his hands. “Okay then, let’s do it.”

Finn goes over to the backyard and tells everyone he has to go and Matthew’s face falls, his lips exaggerating a huge pout.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay,” Mike says, comforting Finn’s little brother. “We’ll come over tomorrow and have another barbecue, and Finn will definitely be here for that one, all right?”

Matthew perks up at Mike’s words, hugging Finn goodbye as Kurt puts their little plan in motion by distracting everyone with stories of his cat back in Toronto. Finn shoots Kurt a thankful smile and sneaks to his bedroom to shower and leave.

~.~

Finn parks his car outside Rachel’s house at 6:58pm. As he picks up his phone to send her a message, he realises she’s already waiting for him sitting in a bench inside the hall of her building with another tray over her lap.

She gives him a small smile and goes over to his car. She gets inside and gives him a small peck on the lips. Finn can’t get enough, though, and gently puts his left hand under her chin, bringing back her lips for a longer kiss.

They break apart, both smiling from ear to ear. Finn picks up the tray from her lap and puts it in the backseat.

“Can’t believe you beat me, Rach,” Finn says.

“Well, I _do_ live here… and after last night I figures you’d be early so I came down at six to seven just to make sure I’d get here first,” she says cheekily.

“I’ll get here first next time,” he promised.

“Oh, next time?” Rachel jokes, words teasing him. “A little eager, are we?”

“Damn right,” he says seriously, making Rachel forget how one breathes for a second. She gives him a cute smile and leans in to kiss him again. He welcomes it like a fresh breath after a long dive.

~.~

They’re sitting inside Finn’s car outside of Rachel’s condo just like the night before. Their date just as good, if not better, than the night before.

“I’m sorry for making you miss your friends’ barbecue tonight, Finn,” Rachel says softly, resting her head against the headrest whilst Finn plays with her fingers in his hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Rach. They’ll obviously come over tomorrow and do the same thing. They’re kind of addicted to making my brother happy,” he says. “You know Monica from Friends? They’re like her: addicted to pleasing people, particularly if their name if Matthew Joseph Hummel.”

Rachel giggles quietly at his words. A comfortable silence falls over them, Finn tracing the tip of his fingers against Rachel’s palm in a soothing matter, making her feel sleepy. The fact that is 2am obviously nothing to do with it, she believes.

“Where did you learn that?” she asks in a quiet whisper. “This is very soothing. I’m going to crash here and you’re going to have to carry me to my apartment.”

“I’ll happily do that,” Finn chuckles lightly. “This used to make Matthew fall asleep when he was a little kid when nothing else worked. Well, little-er. Is that a word?”

Rachel smiles at his words. “Is it now.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“And what kind of qualification do you have, Ms.Berry?”

“I’m the Queen of the Universe, don’t you know?”

Finn gives her a sweet smile. “That you are,” he murmurs.

She scrunches her face at him and gives him a soft look.

“But anyway, when my mom was pregnant she told me to research on how to be gentle with a baby so I wouldn’t drop it or anything,” he jokes.

“But you’re such a gentle person, Finn.”

“Yeah, well, I am _now_ ,” he laughs. “But when I was 14 I was going through a rebel phase or something. Especially when I learnt I was going to have another brother. I was kind of an ass…” He trails off. “But I did the research she asked me to and ended up learning a bunch of stuff about babies. And as Matthew grew older, I kept researching until I found a video of a woman explaining something called ‘love touch’ and it worked wonders on him when he was fussy for whatever reason. You make your hand almost weightless and run your fingertips through the baby’s skin, it’s a touch to centre the baby and make them focus on your hand and not their pain or anxiousness,” he explains. “I’m glad you like it, Rach.”

“Mmm, I really do,” she mumbles, her eyes closed, a look of pure bliss on her face and Finn can’t help but lean in and kiss her forehead. She opens her eyes and gives him a lazy smile. “Did someone ever do it to you?”

“Not really.”

“May I?”

“Sure,” he says, offering his hand. She takes his right hand first, tracing her fingertips against his palm, making him sigh contentedly, eyes closing from her tender touch. She covers his entire right hand with attention and care. She then goes to the left hand. She does the same and realises he’s dozing off, seemingly tired from his full day with his brother and their evening together.

“Finn?” she whispers, smoothing her fingers against his forehead, and letting her thumb brush the side of his face until it gets to his jaw.

He shifts lightly and opens his eyes. “Hey, beautiful. Sorry about that.”

“Hi,” she smiles at him. “It’s okay. Did I do it right?”

“It was perfect,” he breathes.

She gives him a sad look then. “I have to go inside.” She fake pouts. “Are you sleepy? Do you think you can drive home without crashing into anything?” she jokes.

“I’ll be okay,” he promises.

Rachel nods then takes a moment to stretch, the position they’ve been in the last few hours hurting her shoulder a little bit. Finn does the same, a yawn escaping his mouth.

“I really have to go now,” Rachel says sadly, “we’ll talk more soon?”

Finn nods his head, eyes stretching to a smile. “I’ll text you tomorrow so we can set up another date.”

"Please do." She smiles softly. “And let me know if Matthew enjoys the cinnamon rolls.”

“I’m sure he’ll love it. They’re really super tasty, Rach.”

Rachel leans into the console and gives Finn a sweet kiss. Parting away and licking her lips, she gets out of the car and walks over to her building. Finn gives her a wave and starts his car, heading to his mom’s house with a huge smile on his face the entire way.

* * *

**Thank you for reading _and_ for being patient. Next update will most definitely not take this long, I'm already working on it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tinder. I tried to come up with another name for the app, but I failed, haha.**


	4. spending time with friends

 

**Quiet nights of quiet stars**

* * *

**04\. spending time with friends**

* * *

On Sunday, after breakfast, Finn gives Matthew the cinnamon rolls and the little guy absolutely _loves_ it. He seriously can’t stop stuffing his face with it and Carole gives Finn an amused look, making sure to remind her oldest son she was right, he should not have given them before breakfast otherwise Matthew wouldn’t have eaten his regular meal.

Everyone else digs in, too, all very impressed with Finn’s “friend” cooking skills. He almost wants to tell his mom about Rachel (like Ethan says, once a momma’s boy, always a momma’s boy), but he kind of also wants to keep her to himself for now.

Plus, he totally knows the second he tells him mom she’s going to freak out and will want to invite Rachel over all the time and that way he will lose time alone with Rachel and since this is so new already, he’s not willing to take that chance. Not yet, at least.

After breakfast and Matthew almost getting sick from eating so much (but still telling Finn “No, Finny! I am not sick at all, I can totally eat more! See?” he said, pointing to his tummy) Finn texts Rachel to let her know the outcome of her mouth-watering baking.

**Good morning, beautiful. Hope you had a good night of sleep. :) Matthew (and the family) absolutely loved your cinnamon rolls, they fought over the very last piece. You’re now famous in the Hudson-Hummel household. ;)**

He goes back to his room for a quick nap after breakfast, getting home in the middle of the night and waking up at 7am by his screaming brothers not exactly his idea of a quiet morning.

His plans are obviously ruined when the doorbell rings and he hears his friends talking animatedly with Matthew and the rest of the family. Huffing loudly, Finn begrudgingly gets out of bed. His phone vibrating in his pocket and he picks it up.

**Good morning, handsome! :) Can’t believe you’re up already. I did have a good, albeit short, night of sleep. Oh, Finn, I’m so glad they liked it. I’ll make sure to remember that. :D**

Finn smiles at her words and just… her freaking cute self, something that has been happening _a lot_ lately, ever since their first interaction. He can’t remember smiling this much before. It’s super awesome, but it kind of hurts his face a little bit.

**I’ve been up since 7h, actually. Kurt and Matthew came into the bedroom and wouldn’t leave until I woke up. >:|**

**Awww, that sucks. I hope you get to sleep better this evening. :)**

**I will if I get to see you ;)**

**Devious ;) Aren’t you tired of me yet?**

**Never :)**

**Cutie :3 And I’d love to see you tonight.**

**Cool, what are in the mood for? I’m game for pretty much anything, Rach.**

**Finn, I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but do you want to come over? We can order some food. I’m kind of tired, don’t really want to go out. This handsome fella kept me up until the wee hours in the morning, see? :D**

Finn’s eyes widen at Rachel’s words. Hell yeah, he wants to go over to her apartment.

**I know the feeling, this beautiful woman kept me up late, too. ;) That would be awesome, Rach. :) What time should I come over?**

**17h? Ish? I have a class tomorrow morning so I can’t be up until 2am again, haha. :D**

**Awesome, I’ll be there! :)**

**Great! Have a good day with your friends and family, Finn! I’ll see you later. :***

**Thanks, Rach. ;) Have a great day. :)**

~.~

Finn tries to mentally calm himself the entire day. He knows Rachel didn’t mean anything sexual by inviting him over, but he can’t help his mind from going to _that_ place. She’s just… really beautiful. And hot. Okay, she’s real hot and Finn’s super into her. And yeah, he loves to sit down and talk to her for literally hours, but kissing her… that is also amazing and he could do it for just as many hours.

He shakes his head, focusing his attention back on his family and friends.

Sam is currently trying to teach Matthew how to make different voices and Matthew is giggling at Sam’s expressions. Finn lets out a chuckle at his friend.

Mike is sitting by his side, just as amused. “He’s pretty good with kids, right?”

“Yeah, man,” Finn responds. “I think he’s going to be a pretty awesome dad.”

Mike nods. “You know, that might not be _that_ far away…”

“What? You’re serious?”

“Yeah, he met this woman the other day and he’s _totally_ over the moon. I never saw him like this before. She is pretty damn awesome, I gotta say. Funny, too,” Mike says honestly “She actually lives in her own building, but we never met her before. She came over to our place the other day and after she left he couldn’t shut up about travelling with her and Argentina this, Bolivia that, and they could--”

“Wait, what?” Finn interrupts him. “Bolivia? As in the _country_ Bolivia?”

“Yeah, is there another place with that name?” Mike jokes.

“Yes, a few cities around the world, actually,” Finn frowns. “There’s a city in Brazil, a community in Illinois, some place in Costa Rica, another place in Guat--”

“Why do you know this much about Bolivia?” Mike wonders. “You’re acting weird, Finn.”

“I have a photographic memory and we studied something about it the other day. Anyway, as you were saying,” Finn says, gesturing his hands for Mike to keep going.

“Yeah, anyway...” Mike gives Finn a weird look, but continues talking. “Apparently that’s her area of research and he was all ‘You know, Mike, we could actually live by the border and she could do her thing and I could do mine and we still get to see each other a lot’.”

Finn seats a bit straighter at his friend’s words, remembering Rachel’s words and stories clearly, the time she went to Bolivia (the country) with a bunch of friends. “Wait, this sounds too familiar. What’s her name?”

“Hmm, it’s Mercedes. Yeah, Mercedes Jones. Why? You know her or something?”

Finn lets out a laugh and shakes his head. “Not personally. I know someone who’s her friend.”

Mike perks up at Finn’s words. “Oh, is it Tina?”

“You know Tina, too?”

“Not really,” Mike admits. “Mercedes was just showing some pictures to Sam and there was one of her with a friend named Tina. She’s Mercedes’ roommate.” Mike tries to sound nonchalant, but Finn knows his friend very well. “She looks nice, I don’t know.” Mike tries to shrug it off.

“Nice?” Finn teases. “You got that from a picture?”

“Yeah, well…” Finn gives Mike a pointed look. “Fine, she’s hot.” he admits, making Finn laugh.

Mike clears his throat, “So, what were you saying about Mercedes?”

“Oh, nothing much.” Now it’s Finn’s turn to try and shrug it off. He _could_ tell Mike about Rachel, but now that he knows Sam and Mercedes are a thing, he knows it’s only a matter of time before their friends get together, so he could use more alone time, just him and Rachel. “There’s just someone in one of my classes who’s friend with her. Not a big deal.”

“Oh,” Mike sounds slightly disappointed.

“I hope you get to talk to Tina soon, though. The person I know likes her a lot,” Finn says encouragingly. “And Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“For the record, Tina does seem nice. And she’d be lucky to get to know you, bro. It’s not like you’re awful or anything,” Finn jokes, trying to cheer his friends. It works, Mike giving him a side smile.

~.~

It’s 4pm before Finn realises it. To make sure his friends will get the hint, he lets out a huge yawn, stretching his arms and kind of making a scene.

“Oh my God, Finn! Were you raised by wolves?!” Kurt admonishes.

Everyone turns to face him, Ethan giving him a weird look, eyebrows narrowing, almost like he knows he’s faking it. Finn pretends he doesn’t see it.

“Guys, I’m beat,” Finn says. “I’m going to head inside and take a nap, all right? I still have some stuff to study so…”

“Oh, man, sure. We’ll get out of your hair,” Mike offers, always the polite one. He grabs a garbage bag and starts putting the stuff they used inside.

“No!” Matthew protests. “Don’t go! We still haven’t played Monopoly!”

“I’m sorry, Matty. We’ll play it next time, okay?” Sam suggests.

Matthew’s face falls and it’s almost enough for Finn to call this off, but he really really really really _really_ wants to see Rachel tonight. Plus, he figures he’s not the worst brother ever because he has been spending a lot of time with Matthew lately. And he does have Kurt and Baine to fill in for him.

Shrugging off his guilt, he gets up from his seat, ready to head inside with his friends to say goodbye. Kurt and Blaine try to calm down Matthew, promising him they will play Monopoly with him until it’s bedtime.

“Until it’s _bedtime_ , Kurt? _Really_?”

“Yes, little brother,” Kurt says. “We are going to have an awesome night.”

“Yay!” Matthew says. “Bye, Mike! Bye, Sam! Bye, Ethan! I’m going to play Monopoly with Kurt and Blaine until it’s _bedtime_!”

The men all laugh at Matthew’s excitement and say their goodbyes, heading inside.

As they’re walking down the house, Ethan tells the rest of his friends to wait for him outside. “I gotta talk to Finn, just a sec, guys.”

Finn frowns, sending Ethan a questioning look. When they’re alone, Ethan smacks Finn on the arm. Hard.

“Ouch!” Finn hisses. “What the fuck, man?” Finn asks, rubbing his arm and giving Ethan a dirty look.

“Dude, you are so fucking lying,” Ethan spits. “You hate naps. What the hell is going on? Where are you going?”

“Nothing is going on, and I’m not going anywhere,” Finn says quickly. Sort of too quickly.

“You are the actual worst fucking liar in Canada, _Finnegan_. Just tell me what’s up, man. Are you going to hang out with someone or what? You never blew us off before.”

“Uh--”

“I knew it. I knew you had a new best friend! Who is he?” Ethan threatens, pushing his sleeves up his arms.

Finn lets out a full belly laugh at Ethan’s implication, receiving another punch on his arm. “Are you – are you _jealous_ , man?”

“Fuck no.”

Finn’s eyes widen and he laughs again, receiving a hard look from Ethan.

“Listen, man. I just gotta know who I’m going to promote to my best friend since you obviously don’t give a shit anymore, lying and all that shit.” He tries to sound nonchalant, but Finn knows Ethan’s actually hurt because Finn’s not telling him everything. Ethan might not be the most emotional person ever, or kind of at all, but Finn knows him well enough. And Ethan _is_ the most loyal friend he ever had. It’s not like this is a major secret or whatever, but Finn does feel bad for not telling Ethan. After all, Ethan _was_ the one who suggest Finn the app in the first place.

At Finn’s silence, Ethan scoffs. “Whatever, I’m fucking done.”

“Listen, man, it’s not like that. It’s just this woman I met.”

“HA! I knew it! I knew you were getting some and lying about it! Not telling your best boy shit.” Finn rolls his eyes. “So, tell me about her, you dog!”

“It’s nothing like that. We just started going out.”

“Yeah, get some, bro!” Ethan grins. “Is she the one from the sex app?”

Finn rolls his eyes. “It’s not a sex app, Ethan.”

“Whatever, is she the one from the app or not?” Finn nods, an annoyed look on his face. “Awesome. I’m happy for you, man,” Ethan says. “Sorry for freaking out, I think I ate too much sugar today or something.”

Finn chuckles at his friend’s dramatics. “No worries, dude.”

Walking towards the front door, Ethan says. “You can give me details later.”

Finn rolls his eyes again and gives Ethan the middle finger.

~.~

After Rachel clears Finn’s entrance, he goes up the stairs and knocks on her door.

Rachel opens the door with a huge grin on her face, greeting Finn with a warm hug. He hugs her back, squeezing her sides softly and inhaling her delicious scent. She’s wearing a white dress and she looks absolutely beautiful, her hair in a loose bun, bangs falling gently against her eyes.

“Hi, Rach.”

She looks up at him, a bright smile on her face. Finn leans down to kiss her, and she embraces him fully, wrapping her arms around his body. Finn slides his hand up Rachel’s body, rubbing her arms then trailing his fingers to her hair. He buries his fingers in her hair and gently angles her face, kissing her deeply. It’s only when Rachel lets out a strangled noise from the back of her throat, they seem to realise they’re just outside her door.

Lazily stepping away from Finn and letting out a chuckle, Rachel says, “Wow. I should have invited you over sooner.” She licks her lips and Finn can’t help but lean in again and give her a quick kiss. He then raises his eyebrows and gives her a smirk. Lacing their fingers together, Finn steps inside her warm apartment and closes the door.

“Rach, your apartment smells like… Rachel,” Finn says, passing through the kitchen and heading to the couch.

“Oh, is that so?” Finn nods. “And does it smell good?” she asks, raising her left eyebrow.

Finn puts their joined right hands on her back and drags her closer, giving her a sensual, slow kiss. His left hand travels to the side of her face, thumb pressing against the delicate skin between her eyes and hair. He takes his time, lazily exploring the inside of mouth as Rachel melts against him, fingers closing around his as she lifts her body closer to him, chest pressing together. A soft purr rumbles in Rachel's throat and Finn detaches his mouth from hers, smooth lips going from her lips to the edge of her ear. He bites her earlobe lightly and Rachel whimpers. Smirking against her skin, Finn traces his lips back to hers.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she says in a breathy voice against his lips.

Finn presses his mouth against hers and chuckles. “Definitely.”

Rachel smiles, sitting down on the couch and pulling Finn’s hands, making him seat with her. She puts her legs under her body and turns towards Finn, who puts his arm against the back of her couch, looking straight into her eyes.

“It does smell awesome in here.”

“Why, thank you, Finn. I’m obsessed with candles,” Rachel says. “It took me a long to find candles that match my favourite perfume, but I finally did it.”

“And I’m sure glad you did.”

They share a tender look and Rachel scrunches her nose at him in an affectionate way. She leans forward and kisses him again, unable to contain herself.

“So,” She puts her hand on his leg, rubbing her fingers against his jeans, and asks, “How was your day?”

“Actually, you would never believe what I learnt today.”

“What?”

“You remember Sam? My friend who studies that stuff about poetry in Argentina?”

Rachel nods. “Yes, I remember him. He sounds wonderful, you clearly have great taste in people.”

Finn doesn’t miss a beat, saying smoothly. “Of course I do, I know you, don’t I?”

Rachel giggles. “Oh, you are _on fire_ tonight, aren’t you?” Finn laughs and kisses her again. “Anyway,” Rachel shakes her head. “What about Sam?”

“Oh yeah. I was talking to Mike and _apparently_ , Sam is totally head over heels over a certain someone named Mercedes.”

Rachel furrows her eyebrows. “Mercedes?”

“Yes, Mercedes _Jones_.”

“No way! _My_ friend Mercedes?” she asks, Finn nodding at her question. She suddenly frowns and Finn gives her a look.

“Rach?”

“Sorry. I was just thinking that yes, it’s awesome that our friends are going out, but...” ahe sighs.

“Yeah?”

“I hope they don’t annoy us to hang out all the time. Like, everyone together.” Finn laughs at her words, shaking his head. She mistakes his response for a negative one and quickly adds. “I’m sorry, Finn, I don’t mean to sound like a selfish fool saying that, I—”

“No, Rach, that’s not it at all,” he assures her, squeezing her hand over his leg. “I just… I had the same _exact_ thought when Mike told me about it.”

“Really?” Rachel whispers.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s totally awesome that our friends found each other, but I really love spending time with you. Alone.”

Rachel giggles, putting her hands on either side of his face and kissing him firmly on the lips. “Me too,” she whispers against his lips.

Finn gives her a dimpled grin and continues, “Mike actually has a thing for Tina, too. We’re like Friends, except we’re a group of couples. Well, mostly. Mike and Tina aren’t a thing, but I think they could be. I mean from what you said about her, she seems real cool and Mike is a great dude, I can vouch for him if she’s worried or anything,” Finn rambles on as Rachel bites her lower lip at Finn’s words, trying to contain her smile. “What?” he asks.

Rachel clears her throat and quickly puts her poker face on. “So… we’re a… we’re a _couple_ then?”

Finn seems to realise the implication of his words then. Licking his lips, he says slowly, “Well… yeah…” He looks at her for a long moment, trying to read her face, but she just stares at him blankly, the trace of her earlier smile missing and Finn gulps, not exactly knowing if he’s really getting ahead of himself or if Rachel’s just messing with him. “I mean, I hope so?” Finn asks, scratching his head and lowering his eyes. He traces his thumb against Rachel’s hand lightly and looks up at her. “Rach? Please say something?”

She lets out a cute laugh at his uncertainty. Finn’s eyes widen at first, but her laugh is so contagious he can’t help but laugh along with her.

“Yes, Finn, I would love for us to be an official couple,” she says softly. Finn beams, leaning in and kissing her again.

“So…” Rachel starts, tongue darting out of her mouth and licking her lips. “Now that we established that… do you want to drink something, boyfriend?” she asks shyly.

“I’d like that, _girlfriend_ ,” he winks, making sure to enunciate the last word perfectly.

“Is water okay?”

“Yeah. Water is actually my favourite drink ever.”

“Really? Mine too!” Rachel laughs, getting up and heading to the small kitchen in her apartment. She grabs two glasses of water, putting a few ice cubs in them. She comes back and before putting them over the table, she asks Finn to pick up two coasters from her centre table drawer. He puts them on the table and she sets the glasses down.

Sitting beside him again, Rachel picks up her water glass and takes a long drink. After she’s done, she rests her hand with her glass on her leg.

Finn takes a few sips of his water and says, “Do you want to eat something, Rach? I actually didn’t eat a lot today.”

“In a moment,” she whispers. Leaning forward, Rachel puts her glass of water on the centre table. She turns towards him, her eyes different, more serious as she deliberately licks her lips. Finn sits up straighter, bracing himself for what’s about to come. Rachel tactfully reaches for his glass of water and puts it besides her own. She gets up from her spot on the couch, never taking her eyes off his. She delicately puts her hands on his face and leans in to kiss him. He deepens the kiss immediately, spurring Rachel on, making her sit on his lap with her legs either side of Finn’s body, keeping him close to her body.

They kiss lazily and slowly, taking their time to enjoy each other’s company, exploring each other’s mouths and tongues. Time could stand still for all their care, nothing in the world more important than this right now. Finn sucks on her bottom lip and Rachel groans against him.

Her right hand is at the back of his neck, her left travelling his arm up and down, grabbing into his biceps and squeezing them. In response, Finn embraces her waist tighter and lets his hands roam her back, using his fingertips to trace her exposed back, making her shiver and drawing her impossibly closer to him.

Finn elevates his hips, making Rachel moan against his mouth, taking both of her hands to the back of his neck, hugging his body against her and rocking over his lap, eliciting a groan from the back of Finn’s throat that’s so sexy she feels like she could explode right about now. She doesn’t let go of his mouth, she wouldn’t dare to since it’s giving her life with each passing second.

He pulls her body closer and does the same movement as before, obtaining a more aggressive response from Rachel, making her rub her centre against him, moving her hips back and forth, back and forth. She tears her mouth away from him to let out a shuddering breath, leaning against Finn and bringing their foreheads together, hands never leaving his hair as she grinds against him.

Finn takes his hands to her hips, guiding her movements, a delicious friction building between them. He takes his mouth to her neck and licks her soft skin, kissing his way to the back of her ear, which drives her crazy. He bites her earlobe and then blows on it, which sinks Rachel harder on his lap.

She lets out a tiny whimper and rocks her body with a new kind determination Finn hadn’t seen yet. It’s like she’s seeking something wonderful she’s sure it’s on its way. Reaching for her thighs, Finn slips his fingertips inside her dress, sliding them slowly until the top of her legs, next to her hips. He squeezes and scrapes his short nails against her skin, Rachel shuddering and whimpering his name. He leans towards her neck again and breaths heavily against her, distributing kisses on her neck, near her jaw, wherever he can reach.

Finn looks deep into Rachel’s eyes, brushing his lips against her, the tip of their noses touching as they pant against each other’s mouth. They’re not even having sex and this is already one of the best sexual experiences Finn has ever had. The sheer intensity making him shiver all over.

Rachel mewls against Finn’s mouth, fingers pulling Finn’s hair as her eyelids flutter close from the pleasure cursing through her body. Finn pushes his hips hard against her, making her open her eyes again. His gaze never wavers as he breaths out, “Keep your eyes open, baby.”

Rachel licks her lips at his words, eyes slipping open on his command. She never stops moving as she pants, “Like this?”

Finn nods frantically, holding her gaze and biting his lower lip, griping Rachel thighs strongly. “Fuck _yes”._ He slides his hand over to her lower stomach, thumbs hooking at the edge of her underwear. Pressing his fingers harder against her skin and taking control of her movements, Finn makes sure to move his hips in sync with Rachel’s, driving them closer and closer to the edge.

“Fiiinnn…”

“You can let go, Rach.”

Rachel throws her head back, a long moan slipping out of her lips as she rocks her hips even harder against Finn, riding the waves of her orgasm, her body tingling with pleasure. Her hips keep moving with Finn’s help and he reaches his own climax, mouth descending to Rachel’s neck as he bites it down, eliciting a gasp from his girlfriend.

As they both come down from their highs, Rachel rests her hand against Finn’s stomach, his chest heaving. Finn licks his dry lips, pupils dilated as he rests his head against Rachel’s couch, a satisfied smirk pulling the side of his lips. She lets out a small laugh at his appearance: hair in disarray from her fingers, t-shirt clinging to his body. He looks good enough to eat and Rachel just wants to kiss him until she can’t breathe anymore so she leans down, hands resting on either side of Finn’s face as he looks up at her. She gives him a small smile and kisses him hard on the mouth. Finn smiles into the kiss and slides his fingers to Rachel’s face, holding her close to him. Lungs burning from the lack of oxygen, they slowly part their lips and laugh in the space between their bodies, feeling a thrill run through their veins.

~.~

After freshening up and ordering food, Finn and Rachel sit by her dining table eating some Chinese food.

“Rach?” Finn asks, taking a bite of his food.

“Mm?”

“I know we just talked about not hanging out all the time with our friends, but…” he shrugs his shoulders. “Ethan _is_ hosting a NBA All Star party at his place next Sunday and I think you, Mercedes, Tina, and Quinn could maybe come over, too?” What do you think?”

“Do you want to introduce your awesome _girlfriend_ to your friends?” Rachel asks, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of her mouth

Finn chuckles, nodding his head. “Sure do, babe.”

Rachel squeezes his hand, “Yes, I’d like that.” She grabs some food and puts it in her mouth. After chewing, she comments mindlessly, “I actually can’t wait to meet Pink Dick.”

Finn notices her slip and smirks slightly before quickly recovering himself. He then gives her a serious look and asks, “You mean like naked?”

Rachel almost chokes on her food at Finn’s question.  She coughs violently for a few moments, Finn offering her a drink. With eyes wide, she asks, “ _What_?”

Finn bites the inside of his cheek trying to contain his sly smile, actually enjoying teasing her a bit. Rachel is always so well put together, it’s fun to see her like this. “I don’t know, Rach…” he shrugs his left shoulder. “You are the one who said something about his… you know… his _thing_.”

Rachel gasps dramatically, completely appalled that he would even suggest _that_. “Finn Hudson!” she exclaims, slapping her hand against the dining room table. Finn contorts his face, trying to stop a full belly laugh from erupting. “I am astonishingly _horrified_ you would even suggest such a thing!” She gestures her hands in the air madly, taking a deep breath and carrying out on her rant. “Why would you even _think_ that? Didn’t we _just_ talked about being exclusive, I mean what in the green face of the Earth it’s—“

Finn burst out laughing, cutting Rachel mid-rant. She’s breathing hard through her nose, scowling at his amused expression.

“Rach, calm down, I was just kidding.”

“That is not humorous at all, Finn,” she declares, giving him an annoyed look. “I do not care for these types of jokes.”

“Loosen up, beautiful,” Finn leans to give her a kiss. Rachel slaps his arm, huffing in indignation.

Rachel huffs again, crossing her arms over her chest. “I haven’t even seen you naked, why would I want to see your friend? Annoying!”

Finn gives her a salacious grin and says huskily, “Well, you know we can change that at any time you want…”

Rachel finally lets out a small giggle and rolls her eyes. Finn gives her a cheeky grin and a wink. She leans in and gives him a quick kiss. “Anyhow!” ahe says, turning back to her food. “That sounds fun, I’ll invite them. What time should we come over?”

“Hmm, the game starts around five. So I think around three is good, just so we can introduce everyone and let people be comfortable around each other?” Finn suggests, giving her a small smile.

Rachel returns his smile and says, “Okay, I’ll talk to them and let you know.”

~.~

Rachel knocks on the door of Mercedes and Tina’s apartment, greeting Mercedes and getting inside the warm condo. Tina and Quinn are sitting by the living room, a glass of wine in their hands as they say hello to Rachel.

“Hi, babies!” Rachel says, sitting down by Quinn on the sofa, giving her friend a hug. She quickly reaches for the fourth glass of wine, taking a sip and smiling to herself. She sets in down and announces enthusiastically, “Guess what?! Finn and I made it official!” She claps her hands together, a huge smile on her face.

“Yay, Rachie!” Quinn exclaims, hugging Rachel again. “I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m so glad you guys did!” Mercedes adds. “You know what this means, right? Double dates with Sam and I!”

Rachel laughs at her friend enthusiasm. “Yes, Cedes, we’d love that.”

“Aw! Look at my baby girl saying “we” already!” Mercedes says, clinging her right hand over her heart. “I’m like a proud mama!” she says, pretending to wipe a tear.

“Get that d, girl!” Tina screams, a huge smirk on her face, making everyone giggle. Rachel blushes slightly, Tina only laughs further.

“A little tipsy, I see?” Rachel asks, an amused expression on her face. Tina shrugs, giving Rachel a dopey smile. “In any case, it’s not the time yet, Tina.”

“Pfft! You showed me his pictures, Rachel!” Tina argues. “Yes, it is time! It’s always time, Rachel. ALWAYS!” she insists. “It is always time for that!”

The women all laugh at Tina’s words. Mercedes nodding her head in agreement whilst Quinn giggles softly to herself, already feeling a little bit buzzed, too.

“Ignoring you!” Rachel says. “So! Finn invited us to watch the NBA All Star at Pick Dick’s house.” She lets out a small laugh before continuing, Ethan’s nickname never fails to make her laugh. “What do you guys say?”

“Will Sam be there?” Mercedes asks, a grin on her face.

Rachel nods, “Yes, he will!”

Mercedes adds quickly, “Count me in!”

Quinn purses her lips, a thoughtful look on her face. “Huh, I would never pass another opportunity to tease Pink Dick…. so I will _obviously_ I will be there.”

Tina laughs, “We wouldn’t expect anything less, Quinn. And yes, Rach, I’ll be there, too,” she adds.

“Oh, I’m so glad my tease reputation precedes me!” Quinn declares.

“We love you, Quinn,” Mercedes says, lifting her glass. Quinn reciprocates the gesture, a giggle bubbling from her lips.

“Does he have any Asian friends?” Tina asks, a serious expression on her face. “You know white boys bore me.”

“Yay! I’m glad you guys are on board!” Rachel says. “And of course he does, Tina. This is Vancouver, duh!”

“WOOOOOO!” Tina shouts. “What time?”

“You guys can come to my place around 2pm, then we can get ready together and go?” Rachel offers.

“Deal.” Quinn says. “Can’t wait!”

“I’ll be there!” Mercedes adds.

Tina nods along. “Me too!”

“Anyway! No more guys talk,” Quinn says. “Let’s talk about the clusterfuck that is Grey’s Anatomy, shall we?” The other three women nod, quickly lashing out on the latest episode.

~.~

“You better suck up to me like you never sucked anything before, Garner,” Finn tells Ethan the next day as they’re heading to class.

Ethan’s steps come to a halt. He cocks an eyebrow, giving Finn an inquiring glance. “Uhhh… you might want to lead with an explanation, man. That just sounds weird.”

Finn stops walking and turns to his best friend. He rubs his hands together, giving Ethan a mischievous smile. “Do you happen to remember a certain someone named _Quinn Fabray_?”

Ethan gasps, gripping Finn’s shoulder. “Are you fucking serious? Is she the one you’re hooking up with?”

“What? No!” Finn shakes his head. “Blondes are your thing, I thought we established that already.” Ethan lets out a breath of relief. Finn rolls his eyes and continues on speaking, “And my _girlfriend’s_ name is Rachel.”

Ethan gives Finn a knowing smile. “Ooh! Girlfriend, huh? When did that happen?”

“We talked about it last night,” Finn responds. “But anyway, back to Quinn Fabray. She’s really close friends with Rachel. And I may have told Rachel to invite her to your NBA All Star party next weekend.”

“Hudson, are you serious?” Finn doesn’t say anything, just gives Ethan a smirk. “So is she coming or what?!” Ethan asks impatiently.

Finn responds with his best impression of Kanye shrug and says, “I don’t know…”

“Man, stop being a dick and tell me.”

Finn chuckles, “Oh, no, Ethan. That’s _you_. Pick Dick.”

Ethan groans, throwing his head back. “I fucking hate this dumbass nickname.” He shakes his head, trying to get rid of it somehow.

After making Ethan squirm without an answer for a few moments, Finn finally takes pity on his friend and says with a small smile on his face, “Yes, she’s coming.”

“FUCK YEAH!” Ethan shouts. “This is totally my time to show her I’m not a complete idiot.”

Finn frowns. “Yeah, I’m not so sure about that, man…”

Ethan punches Finn’s arms. “Asshole.”

~.~

It’s raining like the world’s about to end any second when Rachel pulls her car over to Ethan’s apartment complex. She sees a vacant space behind Finn’s car and parks there.

“I freaking hate Vancouver in February! This stupid rain!” Quinn whines. From the backseat, Tina and Mercedes share a secret laugh at their friend’s dramatics. Quinn turns to Rachel and rants. “We are all Geography major. Why didn’t we see it was going to rain this much?”

Rachel laughs. She brushes her hands over Quinn’s arms and says, “This is not going to last long, Quinn. Just hang in there.”

“Dammit,” Quinn groans. “I kind of want to see Pinky,” she admits, biting into the inside of her lower lip.

“ _Pinky_?” Mercedes asks, giving Quinn an amused smile.

Quinn brushes Mercedes’ question with her hand. “Pink Dick. Saying Pinky is just… faster,” she says, dipping her chin to hide her blush.

“Oh man, you didn’t even hook up with him yet and you already gave his nickname a nickname,” Tina teases. “A nickname to the nickname you originally gave him, no less.”

Rachel and Mercedes giggle at Quinn’s now red face. “Whatever!” Quinn exclaims. “Yes, he is annoying, but he’s just….” she lets out a heavy sigh. “So cute. Ugh! And hot. Did I mention hot? He is like… so delicious!”

Mercedes purses her lips. “I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers,” she states, making the three other women laugh.

They keep talking in the car for a while, waiting for the rain to ease down, when Rachel’s phone buzzes with a message from Finn.

**Hi, beautiful :) I see your car downstairs, are you guys waiting for the rain to slow down a bit?**

She quickly types a response.

**Hi, Finn! :) Yes, we’re waiting for a good time to come out of the car. We’re also very annoyed. I think me most of all because I can’t wait to see you :***

Finn’s answer doesn’t take long.

**I missed you, too, baby. :) And yeah, I figured you guys were impatient. :p We have a plan to let you guys inside without the rain. Ethan has this huge beach canopy so we’re going to come down with it so you guys can come out. Let your friends know, we’ll be down in two minutes.**

“Okay, guys,” Rachel says. “They are going to come down with a canopy so we can get out of the car.”

“What the hell is canopy?” Tina asks.

“It’s like one of those beach tents,” Rachel explains. “Finn says it’s huge, so I’m sure it’ll fit all of us.”

Looking at the building’s entrance, she can see Finn and his friends coming to her car. They stop by the covered area and open a huge canvas, each standing near the edge.

“Oh wow, that _is_ huge,” Quinn mutters.

Tina giggles lightly, “That’s what she said.”

They share a laugh before Mercedes says, “Thank God there are four of them, huh? Otherwise this would be a mess!”

The men come near the car and Finn knocks on the window, gesturing for the women to get out. Quinn is the first to come out, sliding out of the passenger front seat. She lets out a shriek as the cold temperature hits her body. Ethan eyes her slyly, sending a smirk her way, eyebrows wiggling.

“Hello, Pinky,” she says shortly, side-eyeing him.

Ethan’s eyes widen at her reception, his mouth hanging open. “Excuse me?”

“Pinky! Because you’re a Pink Dick, see?” Quinn grins cheekily.

Mike lets out a loud laugh and Sam pretends he doesn’t hear it, moving his head around. Ethan tries to stretch his legs to kick Mike, but Mike’s faster and slender, curving his body. Ethan scoffs in annoyance.

Mercedes is next, getting out of the car and greeting Sam with a small peck on the lips. She stands in the middle of the canopy, lacing her arms with Quinn, who’s chuckling slightly at her previous moment with Ethan. Mercedes gives Quinn a questioning glance and Quinn leans in to whisper something in her ear, making both of them giggle away. Tina comes out afterwards, also standing with the other two women.

Rachel is supposed to be next, but she takes much longer than necessary. Finn sticks his head inside the car, where Rachel is huffing and talking lowly to herself.

“Rach?”

“Finn! My dress got stuck! I don’t want to rip it!” Rachel whines, sticking out her bottom lip. She pouts and says, “And now my right leg is stuck to this side, too. I’m going to stay here forever.”

Finn holds back his chuckle, trying not to upset Rachel further. “Baby, it’s like, six degrees, why are you wearing a dress?”

“I’m wearing tights, I’m not cold,” she brushes him off. “But that doesn’t matter because I’m stuck forever!” she sighs dramatically.

Finn tries to manoeuvre himself to help Rachel, but fails miserably. Her dress is stretched, seemingly stuck on something at the side of her seat and he can’t reach it, even though he has really long arms. He tries to untangle her leg, but it’s also stuck between the passenger seat and the console.

“Rach, how did this happen?”

“I don’t know… I tried to jump over this stupid console,” she complains, slapping her hand against the part of the car. “And my foot got caught in the middle.”

Finn bites the inside of his cheek, furrow deep in thought. “I’m going to have to go to the other side, Rach. Hold on.”

Rachel reaches for his hand, “No, Finn! You’ll get wet!”

Finn seems to remember where they are and the heavy rain as he sighs. He shakes his head quickly and says, “I don’t care, I have to unscramble your dress or it’ll get ruined,” he says, letting go of the canopy, closing the door and going to the other side of Rachel’s car.

Rachel hears their friends complaining loudly before they run back to the entrance of the building, disappearing inside. Finn opens the driver’s door, completely drenched in rain and Rachel sighs, feeling bad for him because he can get really sick from this stupid rain.

Finn works hastily on Rachel’s dress and untangles the fabric, letting it free (without any rips, yes!). He swiftly moves inside the vehicle, putting Rachel on his lap and closing the door behind him. She lets out a squeal at how fast he does it.

“Oh my gosh, Finn! You’re soaked!” she declares, turning around, to the best of her abilities, that is, and brushes her hand over his wet face, trying to get rid of some of the water.

“I don’t mind, baby,” he smiles against her hand, kissing her palm gently. She gives him a soft look and leans down to kiss him. They part quickly and Finn adds, “See? Totally worth it.” She smacks his arm and gives him an annoyed look. “Let’s see about your leg, huh? Lean against the window so I can see better, okay?”

Rachel nods, leaning back. Finn pushes her foot around a little bit and suddenly she’s free. “Yay!” she exclaims. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

Finn chuckles, lifting her up and setting her down on the passenger side.

“Now I’m all wet, too,” Rachel says, turning to Finn and pouting again.

“I don’t mind that either,” Finn snickers.

“Stop it!” she chastises, ducking her head behind her hair to hide the blush on her face.

Rachel’s phone buzzes then, offering a distraction. Opening her phone, Rachel sees a message from Quinn, asking what the hell happened. Rachel texts her back, letting her know about the dress and the foot. Quinn responds with a sad face, making Rachel giggle a little.

“So, do you want to get inside now?” Finn asks.

Rachel chews on her bottom lip and says slowly, “Actually… I have a… _naughty_ suggestion.”

Finn looks at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m all ears, Rach.”

“Did you come here with your car?”

“Yeah, why?”

She ignores his question and keeps asking her own, “Do you have your keys with you?” Again, Finn nods. “Do you still have a change of clothes inside?”

Finn cocks an eyebrow and comments, “You know I always do. What’s on your mind?”

“Well...” she drawls. “My place is not too far from here, and it’s much closer than your place. And my dress is now all wet… We can head there, change and come back?” she asks, offering him a smile.

Finn smiles back, the dimple on his cheek deepening. “Let’s do it,” he agrees. “I’ll just pick up my bag and then we can go.”

Rachel nods enthusiastically. Before getting out of the car, Finn leans over and gives her a kiss. “I love naughty Rachel,” he whispers lowly against her lips as their part. He ducks out of the car so fast he misses Rachel’s shiver at his words.

Rachel grabs her phone, texting Quinn and telling her she’s going home to change her outfit (it’s not like she has to disclose the information about Finn changing, too…. And possibly showering at her place…. Naked…). Quinn texts her back a winky face, telling Rachel she’ll cover for her.

Finn gets back inside the car, slipping into the driver’s seat again. He throws his bag in the back seat and heads to Rachel’s house, but not before shooting her a full dimpled grin, making her insides flutter.

~.~

Finn and Rachel step into her apartment together, both shaking their wet clothes. Finn shrugs his jacket off. Not sure where to put it, he looks at Rachel for confirmation. “Rach, where should I—“

His words die on his tongue when he sees the look on her face. With hooded eyes, she’s watching him closely. Her chest is heaving, hair stuck all over her neck, face, collarbone… she looks incredibly sexy. The sexiest woman Finn has ever met. And by the look on her eyes, she knows it, too.

Without saying a word, her right hand encompasses the knot of her dress, letting it softly fly open. She cocks her head to the side, fingers sliding into her wet strands hair, pushing it over her shoulder. Her eyes inviting him to some sort of pleasure he’s starting to believe he never even experienced before.

Rachel licks her lips as she shrugs the dress off of her body, letting it fall to the floor. Standing in her underwear, she slowly comes over to him, her steps resolute and it takes his breath away in how decisive she looks. Finn doesn’t know exactly how, but her cone heels clicking against the hardwood floor match the exact rhythm of his heartbeat.

She stretches her right hand for the jacket on his hand, setting it aside, on top of her dining room table. Finn tries to tell her he doesn’t want to ruin her furniture, but he can’t find the words. Not when Rachel is looking at him like this.

Rachel grasps for the hem of his t-shirt and lazily lifts it over his body. Her eyes ask him to raise his arms and finish the job, which he does. Finn gulps as Rachel traces the very tip of her fingers against his torso. His skin prickles and she gives him a sexy smirk, biting into her lower lip.

Reaching for the zipper of his jeans, she hooks her thumbs on his pants and drags them down, centimetre by centimetre as her soft, cold lips meet his wet skin. She stands up again as Finn quickly steps out of his shoes, socks, and jeans. Turning around, Rachel looks over her shoulder and pulls her hair to the side. Tipping her back, she indicates to Finn that she wants him to take off her bra.

Finn puts his hands against the edge of her tights, tracing his thumb against her skin, slowly and surely. Rachel gasps, her body vibrating under Finn’s ministrations.

Resting his lips over her shoulder, he drags them over to her jaw, under her ear. He inhales hard, sucking in her scent as Rachel whimpers against him. She cocks her head to the side to give him more space. He takes advantage, tongue darting out of his tongue and tracing random patterns against her silky skin as his fingers drag the straps of her bra down her shoulders. Moving to her back, he puts one hand on the end of each strap, unhooking her bra and letting it fall to the floor.

Rachel leans her body closer to Finn’s at the same time he puts his hand around her waist, hugging her close to his body. Both sigh at the first feel of skin to skin, the touch instantly making their bodies warmer.

Finn slides his hands from Rachel’s belly to her breasts, squeezing them in his hands greedily. Rachel lifts her back, rubbing herself against the front of Finn’s boxer briefs and he groans deeply against her ear.

“Finn…” She mewls against him, covering his hands with her own and squeezing them harder against her body.

Finn kisses the curve of her jaw and whispers huskily, “I know, baby.”

Rachel turns around and captures Finn’s mouth with her own, slipping her tongue inside of his mouth and caressing it tenderly. Finn grunts against her mouth. He bends his knees, picking her up and wrapping her legs round his waist.

He moves to Rachel’s bedroom, stopping by the nearest wall and pressing Rachel against it. He rubs himself against her core, making Rachel detach her mouth from his and throw her head back against the wall, letting out a long moan. She bites her lips as she presses herself down onto Finn, the harsh fabric of her tights pressing against his boxer briefs and making Finn’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

Finn latches his mouth against the column of her throat, biting and nipping every patch of skin he can find. He kisses her pulse point, tongue tracing her delicate skin. When Rachel rolls her hips particularly hard against him, Finn sucks on her skin, making Rachel cry out. Finn smirks against her skin, closing his arms around Rachel again and heading to her bedroom. Their hungry mouths find each other again in a frantic kiss as Finn walks the few steps inside of Rachel’s bedroom.

As he’s lowering her to the bed, Rachel holds on onto his upper arms, her nails digging in his skin in a desperate attempt to keep him closer to her body. Finn smiles against her mouth, slowly separating his mouth from hers. She makes a whiny sound, not wanting to let go. Finn chuckles against her swollen lips, tongue dragging out against her lips.

Rachel rests her head against the pillows as Finn sits back on his heels, fingertips hooking on her tights and underwear, sliding them down her legs. When he gets to her shoes, he carefully unhooks the strap and takes them off, leaving them by his side on the bed. He finishes taking all of her clothes off, throwing the tights and her underwear over his shoulder, making Rachel giggle at his gesture.

Finn leans over and kisses her ankles softly, so softly it makes Rachel sigh, closing her eyes, perfectly content. Rising his eyes to meet hers, Finn asks in a low voice, “May I put them back on?”

Rachel nods, a sly smile on her lips. Finn gently puts her heels back on climbs her body again, kissing whatever patch of skin he can find until he reaches her lips again. They kiss for what it seems like hours, hands roaming over their bodies, sighing against each other’s mouth.

When Finn traces the tip of his tongue against the roof of Rachel’s mouth and she can’t take the waiting anymore. Parting their lips, Rachel twists her body, hand aiming for the nightstand. She smiles when she sees a strawberry flavoured condom that Quinn put it there before they left earlier today. She picks up the condom as Finn takes off his boxer briefs.

She hands it over to Finn, who eyes it curiously. A smirk makes its way to his face, his eyes suddenly go darker and he says, “I want you to put it on.” Rachel nods, opening the package, fingers expertly manoeuvring the condom. When she stretches her hands, Finn grabs her arm and stops her. He shakes his head. “Nuh uh.”

Rachel’s brown furrows and she gives him a questioning look. Finn eyes her for a moment. He then breathes out slowly, “I want you to put it on… with your mouth.”

Rachel stops for a second, considering Finn’s suggestion. She then feels her own smirk tugging at the corner of her lip. Finn leans against the pillows, throwing his hands under his head and licking his lips in anticipation.

She balances the condom on the very tip of him, eyes hungry as she eyes him, biting her lower lip. She brings her mouth down onto him and closes her lips around the condom. Letting her tongue slide down, she tries to push the strawberry latex with the tip of her tongue. Finn hisses, pushing himself up on his elbows to watch Rachel’s movement.

Rachel takes her sweet time torturing him. Finn moans, the sound staring at the back of his throat and erupting from his lips. He can’t take the waves of pleasure cursing through his body so he grabs Rachel’s arms and pulls her back to his body. Kissing her firmly, he turns them around, Rachel under him.

Finn finishes the job himself, leaning down and murmuring against Rachel’s lips, “No more foreplay.”

She giggles and kisses him firmly. Finn palms himself a few times before sliding into Rachel. They both groan at the sensation, Rachel throwing her head back, a sharp gasp escaping her.

Finn starts a rhythmic pace, hips rocking slowly and deliberately, trying to reach deep inside of her. Rachel whines, a slow and steady frustration building inside. Their intake of breath is shallow as they breathe into each other’s mouth, Finn swallowing her moans and she doing the same, the air around them getting hotter by the second.

He drives into her faster, his thrusts more forceful and Rachel screams in pleasure, her head rocking back with each plunge of Finn’s hips. She digs her heels into his back and Finn hisses in pleasure. Finn buries his head against her neck, breathing hard against her neck. Rachel scrapes her nails against his back, wailing in pleasure as Finn pushes harder against her, his momentum more intense.

Rachel bites her lips to try and keep from screaming loudly, but when Finn pulls her legs up and then pushes them back against her body, pressing them between their bodies, she almost loses it completely, crying out his name, a primal scream flowing from the back of her throat. The new angle makes him drive deeper into her, reaching a new kind of pleasure Rachel never felt before. She feels her insides pulsating, snuggling around Finn, just seconds away from snapping. Finn pushes restlessly into her. He lets out a strangled moan, breaking down on top of Rachel. He doesn’t stop moving, though, right hand descending Rachel’s body and rubbing tight circles against her clit. She finally loses it, feeling her insides snap, eyelids fluttering as waves of pleasure travel through her body. She collapses against the bed, a smile on her face as she tries to catch her breath.

She forgets all about the rain when she turns and faces Finn, a dimpled grin on his face, bright eyes staring back at her.

~.~

By the time Rachel and Finn finish getting ready to head back to Ethan’s house, the sky is clear once again. The cold remains, so Rachel puts on some jeans, much to Finn’s chagrin. She giggles softly and kisses him soundly, dragging his reluctant body out of the apartment.

“Oh, please, Finn, like the shower stuff wasn’t enough for you?” she smirks.

Finn stops pouting immediately at the recent memory. He lets out a happy sigh, a dreamy smile covering his face. He finally relents, nodding and going after Rachel, who can only giggle and shake her head at her boyfriend.

When they get to Ethan’s house, the game is already at the second quarter. Everyone tries not to act like it’s a big deal that Finn and Rachel took over two entire hours to go back to her house for a simple change of clothes.

Quinn tries to contain her excitement at the permanent smile on Rachel’s face. She knows _exactly_ what it means. And by the looks of it, Rachel probably found her gift, too. She gives Rachel meaningful glances and cocks her head to the patio, wordlessly asking Rachel to meet her there so they can talk about it. Rachel gives Quinn an imperceptible nod, her smile still glued to her face.

Tina instantly notices her friends having a secret conversation, something they have the ability to do since they started being friends, all four of them. Quinn catches her gaze and widens her eyes. Tina nods in understanding, nudging Mercedes, who is almost too busy sucking on Sam’s face to notice what’s going on around. Tina thankfully manages to catch her attention and Mercedes winks at her quickly, disentangling herself from Sam’s arms.

Sam opens his arms, shooting Mercedes a bewildered look. She quickly shushes him, making Sam flop back against the couch, completely unaware of what’s happening. All the men seem to be oblivious, actually.

Quinn clears her throat. “Finn and Rachel need a place to sit. Are there more chairs outside on the patio, Pinky?” Quinn asks. Finn chuckles lightly at the nickname, making a mental note to use it when Ethan is pissing him off.

Ethan groans, “I told you not to call me that, Princess.”

“Aww!” Quinn coos. She pats her hand over Ethan’s head, completely patronising him and absolutely _loving_ it. “And I told you I’m not a Princess, I’m a Queen, Pinky,” Quinn insists in an overly sweet voice. “So… is there?” Quinn asks, one eyebrow cocked, waiting for his answer.

Ethan grunts and begrudgingly nods his head, furrowing his brow and sliding deeper into the couch.

“Awesome! Let’s get you those chairs, Rachie!” Quinn stands up and heads to the patio, Rachel, Tina, and Mercedes hurrying after her.

“Wait.” Finn gives the women a confused look. “I can get the chairs, Quinn.”

Rachel glares at him. “We’ll get it ourselves, Finn, thank you!”

The women all slide to the patio, Mercedes closing the glass door behind them. She nimbly gestures for Sam to close the curtain. Sam gives her a puzzled expression, but gets up and closes the curtains anyway. After he’s done, they can hear shrieking and screaming coming from outside, the women talking loudly over one another.

Finn snorts, finally recognising what they’re doing. Or better yet, realising what they’re talking about. Ethan, Mike, and Sam look at him. Finn fidgets under their curious stares. Turning around, he goes to the fridge, looking at it aimlessly in order to avoid his friends. He picks up a beer for himself and sits down next to Ethan.

“What is happening outside right now?” Ethan asks.

Finn shrugs. “I have no idea.”

The women are still talking agitatedly. They stop for a second and all the boys can hear is a long “awwwww”. Finn promptly ignores his friends’ stare and focuses on the TV in front of him.

A few minutes later, Rachel emerges from the patio with a chair on her arms. Finn gets up and gets it from her, setting it down so she can sit. He quickly gives her a smirk and she flushes when she understands he knows what just happened outside.

Tina brings the second chair, putting it beside Rachel’s. Finn thanks Tina and sits down, taking Rachel’s hand in his and kissing the back of her hand. Rachel blushes at the gesture, leaning and giving Finn a soft kiss.

Finn leans against Rachel’s ear and says softly, “I guess hanging out with our friends is not so bad, huh?”

She giggles lightly, tilting her head and kissing the side of his jaw. “No,” she agrees. “It’s not so bad at all.”

* * *

**Thank you for reading. :)**

* * *

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

Hi, everyone!

Due to recent events, I have decided to alter all of my stories and remove Puck from all of them. I was going to wait to post this author's note, but I decided to do it today because I had the time to alter all of them. I'm sure you're all aware of what happened, and whilst I always deeply loved Puck's character, I can no longer write him in any shape or form. Imagining Puck would be imagining MS and that is just something I cannot do since it makes me want to vomit. I have children of my own and I'm sure you can imagine what I'm feeling right now.

If you're interested in going back and checking it out, you will see I replaced Puck with Santana or an original character. I have to say, particularly in _Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars_ it's going to be kind of awkward to read at first. I had to go back and cut a few things from the story because they didn't make sense without Puck there, but I sincerely hope this doesn't turn you guys off. I just hope you guys can look past the initial awkwardness. It eventually grows on you, I promise!

So this is how it is now:

In _Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars_ I decided to replace Puck with an original character. His name is Ethan Garner. You are free to imagine him any way you like, but I did think about John Boyega when I re-wrote Finn's scenes with his (new) best friend.

In _You Are Like A Sunset to Me_ I replaced Puck with Santana, making Santana and Quinn a couple. Their daughter is Grace and Quinn got pregnant via sperm donor.

In _You Are My Centre When I Spin Away_ , I decided to replace him with Santana, too. Quinn and Santana adopted their child in this story, but her name remains Grace. This is actually going to work out great, I think, for my future plans. Finn's going to need Santana and Quinn in the future, I can't wait for you guys to read it. I already wrote a lot of stuff, but I have a few chapters before actually getting _there_. Anyway, you guys will see it! Plus, I adore Santana and her sense of humour, she is always fantastic.

Side note: I made a tumblr to post pictures of my stories, if you're interested in checking it out! It's freewithme dot tumblr dot com.

BESOS! :)

 


End file.
